



Book. 



fopyright)!?. 



GfiEXRIGHT OEPOSm 



Church 

of 

Our Lady of Esperanza 






WYNKOCP HALLENBECK CRAWFORD CO.. PRINTERS. NEW YORK 



A. R. T. 



Church 

of 

Our Lady of Esperanza 




Descriptive Book by 
THE REV. CRESCENT ARMANET, A.A. 



1921 



D^ 






l^tvmi^m S>uper(orum. 



MiUl obsftat: 



ARTHUR SCANLAN, S.T.D. 

Censor Librorum, 



3fmprimatur: 

* PATRICK J. HAYES, D.D. 

Archbishop of New York 



New York, May 14, 1921 



Copyright, 1921, by Rev. Crescent Armanet 



JUN29'2I 



^W\ PJ A <? 



» 

-^ ^0 t|)c /f3obIe, denial anU <Senerou0 

anD to all ti}e ifrienti^t 'Boti) Htbtng ant Deat, 

tD|)o l^elpeli in t|)e (lErectton) 

£)etoratton anD iFutmi3|)m(s of 

©ut LaDg of OBsperan^a 

^1)10 Hittle Booft 
i0 ^taUtull^ anD Eeispectfunp Detiicateli« 



Foreword 

THE Church of Our Lady of Esperanza is known to everybody in or 
outside New York. Numberless are the visitors who betake them- 
selves to this Sanctuary, in order to admire its rich decorations, its 
splendid stained glass windows and its remarkable paintings. But, what 
were the beginnings of this beautiful little Church ? Who were the generous 
donors of all the masterpieces of art, contained therein? What are the 
different meanings or symbols of the Church fumitiu*e? Many of the 
visitors, even of the parishioners, could not tell. Rev. Fr. Crescent Anna- 
net, for several years assistant at Our Lady of Esperanza, in a very inter- 
esting essay, .explains to us, searching into every detail, what a hasty 
visit could only touch upon lightly. No doubt the author knows and 
loves his Sanctuary with all its artistic treasures. His explanations are 
clear, his descriptions accurate. Added to this are some historical and 
moral considerations as well as timely information, the usefulness of 
which strikes you at once. 

With pleasure, therefore, do I recommend Fr. Crescent's little book. 
Would to God it may find its way into the homes of all those who love 
and frequent the Church of Our Lady of Esperanza. 

Tranquille Pesse, A.A., 

Provincial. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PART I 
SPANISH HILL 

Chapter I page 

An Array of Palatial Structures 19 

Historical remembrances — ^A generous Maecenas: Mr. Archer M. Himtington — 
Museums — The Hispanic Society of America — Origin of the Church of Our Lady 
of Esperanza — Call for funds — The Rev. Fr. Adrian Buisson, A.A., Rector. 

Chapter II 

Erection and Dedication of the Spanish Church 26 

The architect — Laying of the cornerstone — The dedicatory inscription — Decoration 
fimd — ^A great artist, Mr. Caryl Coleman — Opening of the Church — The Conse- 
cration. 

Chapter III 

General Description of the Church 30 

The outside of the Church — Italian Renaissance style — The terrace and portico — The 
inside of the Temple — Symbolism of the Church — "House of Gold" — Decorative 
scheme — General outline of the interior. 



PART II 
THE SANCTUARY 



Chapter I 

The High Altar 39 

Sanctuary — The altar and the mass — Memorial inscription — Technical description of 
the high altar — The tabernacle door — The tabernacle key — ^The tabernacle 
veil — The cross and candlesticks — Chalices and ciborium — Chasuble. 

Chapter II 

The Statue of the Blessed Virgin 51 

The Miraculous finding in Cuba — Cultus of Our Lady of Charity in Cuba — A gift 
from the Cuban people — Enthronement of the statue of Our Blessed Mother — 
Description of the statue — Devotion to the Mother of God — The shrine. 

II 



Chapter III page 

The Sanctuary Lamp 59 

Gift of King Alfonso of Spain — ^A replica of a celebrated work — Symbolism of this 
masterpiece — Memorial inscription. 

Chapter IV 

The Sanctuary Stained Glass Windows 62 

The Angels "who stand before the Lord" — St. Michael "the highest general" — St. 
Raphael, "the healer"-— St. Gabriel, "power of God"— Uriel "one of the Seven". 

Chapter V 

The Altar Rail and Bronze Gate 66 

The holy table or commimion rail — The gate and the monograms of Christ — Brass 
candlesticks. 



PART III 
THE NAVES 



Chapter I 

The Side Altars 71 

St. Joseph's altar — St. Joseph's painting by Sorolla — Ctdtus of St. Joseph — St. Theresa's 
altar. 

Chapter II 

Stained Glass Windows: Left Aisle 76 

Glaziers of mediaeval centuries — Stained glass windows of this Church among the best — 
"The Annunciation"— "The Visitation "—" The Nativity of Christ". 

Chapter III 

Stained Glass Windows: Right Aisle 84 

"The Adoration of the Magi" — "The Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple" — 
"The Marriage Feast at Cana". 

Chapter IV 

The Stations of the Cross 90 

Origin of this devotion — How it spread throughout the world — Our Lady of Esi)eranza's 
stations are masterpieces — ^A short description of each station. 

Chapter V 

Statue of the Sacred Heart 101 

Description of the statue — Origin of the devotion to the Sacred Heart— A great associ- 
ation: "The Archconfratemity of Prayer and Penance" — Approbation by the 
Hierarchy of New York. 

12 



Chapter VI page 

Statue of St. Anthony of Padua 108 

Description of the statue — Short account of the life of St. Anthony — Tuesday de- 
votions in honor of St. Anthony of Padua. 

Chapter VII 

The Consecration Crosses 111 

The twelve consecration crosses — ^Their meaning — Consecration of the Church of Our 
Lady of Esperanza — ^Anniversary of the consecration — Memorial lamps and 
torcheres. 

Chapter VIII 

The Confessionals 113 

A necessary equipment of every Cathohc church — Divine Institution of the Sacrament 
of Penance — Greatness and necessity of that Sacrament. 



PART IV 
THE VESTIBULE 



Chapter I 

"A LA Memoria de Mi Madre" 119 

A miniature window— The coat of arms of Spain — "To the memory of my mother" — 
The "narthex" or vestibule. 

Chapter II 

"St. Monica and St. Augustine at Ostia" 121 

A reproduction in glass of a celebrated painting — Short account of the life of St. Monica 
— Conversion of St. Augustine — Description of the window. 

Chapter III 

"The Return from Calvary" 124 

Another reproduction of a beautiful painting — ^The blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of 
Martyrs — Description of the window. 

Chapter IV 

A Memorial Tablet 126 

To the memory of Miss Maria de Barril — ^A great benefactress of this Church — The 
inscription. 

Chapter V 

Baptismal Font 128 

The Sacrament of Baptism — ^Its necessity for salvation — ^Ancient baptistries — ^The 
blessing of the baptismal water — Description of the font. 

13 



PART V 
THE GALLERIES 

Chapter I page 

The Organ Loft 133 

The fagade windows — Origin of the organ — Monarch of all instruments — Organ of Our 
Lady of Esperanza. 

Chapter II 

Stained Glass Windows: Left Gallery 136 

An array of Spanish heroes and heroines — First panel: St. James the Great and St. 
Ferdinand, King — Second panel: St. Justa and St. Rufina, martyrs of Seville — 
Third panel: St. Isidore of Seville and St. Ildephonsus of Toledo. 

Chapter III 

Stained Glass Windows: Right Gallery 142 

Fourth panel: St. Peter of Alcantara and St. Thomas of Villanova — Fifth panel: St. 
Theresa of Jesus and St. Rose of Lima — Sixth panel: St. Ignatius of Loyola and 
St. Francis Xavier. 

Chapter IV 

The Ceiling Skylight 150 

The symboHsm displayed in the skylight — ^The Three Persons of the Holy Trinity — 
God the Father — God the Son — God the Holy Ghost — "I am the vine, you the 
branches ' * — Conclusion. 



APPENDIX 154 



Order of services in the Church of Our Lady of Esperanza. 

List of donors for the building. 

List of objects donated and list of donors. 



14 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Mr. Archer M. Huntington Facing page 20 

Rev. Adrian Buisson, A.A., Rector " " 24 

Church of Our Lady of Esperanza (Exterior) " " 32 ~ 

High Altar « " 42 

Chasuble « " 48 

Statue of Our Lady « " 52 

Sanctuary Lamp " " 60 

Chalice and Paten " " 62 

Ciboritim " " 62 

St. Joseph and the Holy Child « " 72 

Stained Glass Window: The Annimciation (Left Aisle) ... " " 78 

Stained Glass Window: The Presentation (Right Aisle) ..." "86 

Three of the Stations of the Cross " " 94 

Most Rev. Patrick J. Hayes, D.D., Archbishop of New York " " 106 

Stained Glass Window: The Nativity of Our Lord (Left 

Aisle) " « 112 

Tabernacle Veils " " 122 

Miss Maria de Barril " " 126 

His Eminence Cardinal Farley, Late Archbishop of New 

York " " 134 

Stained Glass Window: St. James the Great and St. 

Ferdinand, King (Left Gallery) " " 136 

Stained Glass Window: St. Peter of Alcantara and St. 

Thomas of Villanova (Right Gallery) " " 142 

Chtirch of Our Lady of Esperanza (Interior) " " 150 



IS 



PART I 
SPANISH HILL 




CHAPTER I 

AN ARRAY OF PALATIAL STRUCTURES 

Historical remembrances — A generous Maecenas, Mr. Archer Huntington — Museums — 
The Hispanic Society of America — Origin of the Church of Our Lady of 
Esperanza — Call for funds — The Rev. Adrian Buisson, A. A., Rector. 

HAT a few years ago was a grassy field, that part of 
Washington Heights where goats browsed, has 
taken a definite step toward the ftilfilment of a 
dignified destiny shaped chiefly by a noble and 
rich scholar, Mr. Archer M. Huntington. Through 
his generosity and his enlightened interest in things bearing 
upon the beginnings of early America, the Heights, between 
the Harlem River and the Hudson, where Fort Washington 
stood, where important battles for the new liberty were fought S 
where Madame Jimiel entertained, where Audubon lived and 
lies buried, have been vivified in significance and permanently 
beautified. 

That little knoll which once belonged to old Audubon 
Park is now crested with the fine buildings of the Museums of 
the Numismatic and Hispanic Societies, the Museum of the 
American Indian, the stately structure of the Geographical 
Society of America and the Spanish Church. The picturesque 
edifice of Nuestra Sefiora de la Esperanza (Our Lady of Hope)^ 
is situated on West One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Street, 
between Broadway and Riverside Drive. This little church 
is the fifth in this unique group of buildings of which the 
Hispanic Museum is the motif. This educational center is 
^^sui generis'' in America. Its rare reference libraries on 

*A bronze tablet erected in 1901 by the Sons of the Revolution and embedded in 
the wall of Trinity Cemetery — northwest corner Broadway and 153d Street — is engraved 
with the following inscription: "Upon this site and across these Heights stood the 
main line of defences thrown up by Washington's army, September, 1776. It was held 
until Fort Washington fell on November 16th, when part of the fighting occurred at 
this point." 

2The official title of the Church is Our Lady of Esperanza. 

19 



Hispanic subjects, including more than eighty thousand 
volumes, and its art collections of every kind, such as paintings, 
sculpture, metal work, rare prints, and coins, archeological 
treasures, manuscripts, old books and ancient maps, draw 
every year a large nimiber of visitors from every part of the 
States. 

The ** exhibition room/* the architecture of which is of the 
Spanish Renaissance period, attracts to the Hispanic Museum 
all the connoisseurs of art. As if by magic you are trans- 
ported to Spain. It is hard to believe oneself in New York 
while under the spell of this immense room with its heavily 
ornamented ceiling and its balconies lighted from overhead. 
Every balcony has an arch, the keystone of which is adorned 
with escutcheons bearing the arms of the provinces of Spain. 
When the sun filters through the skylight and rests on the 
Moorish arches and dim red walls, lingering perchance on a 
painting by Velazquez, or on a rare bit of wood carving, 
or on priceless textures woven in cloth, on gold or silver 
vestments, or on rare mosaics the effect is indescribably 
beautiful and foreign. 

We understand that the American Academy of Arts and 
Letters will soon have a home in this historic neighborhood. 
For this lofty purpose, Mr. Archer Huntington has donated 
a fine piece of land on the west side of the Spanish Church. 
It consists of eight lots, four of which, fronting 100 feet, 
are on the north side of ISSth Street, and the other four 
directly in the rear, on 156th Street. So the site is ready 
for those eminent architects, members of the Institute, who 
will collaborate in the design for the building, and those 
eminent sculptor and painter members who will collaborate 
in its decoration, and those eminent critics, essayists, novelists, 
editors, historians, who as members will get together the 
library. Only the matter of money to build intervenes, but 
this question, no doubt, will quickly be settled; for the members 



20 




MR. ARCHER M. HUNTINGTON 



of the Academy of Arts and Letters, who are to share in the 
housing privileges and facilities, must help out. The object 
of this Academy is to serve the public and create a wider 
knowledge and appreciation of literary and artistic excellence 
in the United States. 

The builders of the surrounding apartment houses on 
* 'Spanish Hill" have succumbed, curiously enough, to the 
general sentiment and have named their buildings after 
Spain's most illustrious sons and cities. Such names as 
''The Seville," "The Velazquez," "The Goya," "Hispania 
Hall," etc., are trtdy symbolical of the meeting of the Old 
and New World. 

The generous Maecenas to whom New York is indebted 
for the fine group of palatial structtires which crown "Spanish 
^Hill," Mr. Archer Huntington, had thoroughly studied 
Hispanic literatiu"e, art and civilization. Extensive travelling 
through the South Western United States, Spain and Portugal 
led him to collect materials of literary, artistic and archeo- 
logical import upon the joint or separate past and present 
of the two nations. It had seemed to him that of all the 
countries of Western Europe "Spain is the one with which 
our relations, friendly and otherwise, have been the closest. 
Everywhere in the South and in the West the names of 
States and cities, of mountains, rivers and plains and the 
survivals in speech and institution recall the deeds of the 
Spanish pioneer and the day when two-thirds of our land 
acknowledged the sway of Spain . . . Hence it is fitting that 
in the land of the square deal and in its very metropolis 
should be formed a nucleus of the means and materials by 
which a true estimate of Spain's greatness may be determined." 

Therefore on May 18, 1904, Mr. Huntington founded the 
Hispanic Society of America and provided it with that 
beautiful building on the frieze of which are carved the 
greatest names of the Iberian Peninsula. 



21 



On the northern fagade of the central building we read 
from right to left the names of Berceo, the celebrated monk 
and poet; Ruiz, the satirist; Maimon, the learned rabbi of 
Cordova; Quevedo, the popular, caustic and fertile writer; 
Goya, the painter; Velazquez, another celebrated painter; 
Loyola, the churchman and saint, founder of the Society of 
Jesus; Camoens, the most illustrious of Portuguese poets; 
Lope de Vega, the dramatist; Cervantes, the immortal 
author of Don Quixote; Columbus, the discoverer of 
America; Bolivar, the South American Liberator; Murillo, 
the great master painter; Boscan, the poet-soldier; El 
Greco, the Spanish painter of Greek origin; Jaime I, the 
Conqueror. 

On the rear or southern fagade of the ''Hispanic Society" 
Museum are carved from left to right the other following 
names: Seneca, the Roman sage, and Trojan, the Roman 
emperor, both of Spanish birth; Averroes, the Moorish 
scientist, and Almanzor, the Moorish warrior, both natives 
of Spain; the Cid, the valiant crusader; Charles V, the 
illustrious statesman; Magellan, the navigator; San Martin, 
the South American general, liberator of Chile and Peru; 
Calderon, the dramatist ; Gongora, the churchman and poet ; 
Sta. Teresa, the most illustrious saint of Spain, and one of 
the noblest women who ever lived, also a very distinguished 
Spanish writer; Ribera, the talented disciple of Michelangelo 
and Correggio; Galdos, the modern novelist, and A. March, 
the Catalonian poet. 

Exteriorly the whole group of buildings is magnificent, 
but the central museum built of Indiana limestone is par- 
ticularly so. With its noble Ionic columns and cornices in 
the main fagade, and its great portico surmounted by a 
pediment two hundred feet long, it is a delight to the eye. 

''Now it is difficult," as an art critic puts it,^ ''to conceive 

^Academy Notes, October, 1912. 

22 



of a Spaniard who is not a loyal son or daughter of the great 
Roman Catholic Church to which we all, until a compara- 
tively short time ago, belonged. It was but natural for Mr. 
Huntington, in his realization of the supreme part played in 
Spanish history by religion, to feel that the home of the 
Hispanic Society of America might very naturally and reason- 
ably have in its immediate vicinity a homage to the religion 
of Spain in the form of a Spanish Church in which the citizens 
of any of the Spanish-speaking countries might worship in 
accordance with the historic faith of their heroic ancestors." 
Mr. Archer Huntington was a friend of Sefiora de 
Laverrerie de Barril, whose husband was at one time Spain's 
Consul General in New York. One day, in 1906, while dis- 
cussing the problems of the Spanish people in New York, 
Sefiora de Barril remarked to Mr. Huntington: "Oh, why 
are you not a Roman Catholic? With yotir love for Spanish 
art and your interest in Spanish literature you would then 
build a church for my people; we have none in New York. ''^ 
A few months later Sefiora de Barril died, but dining the 
ensuing year, as her daughter, Miss Maria de Barril, was 
again visiting the Huntingtons, her host said, '*I have been 
thinking of your mother. Miss de Barril, and I wish you 
would give me a letter to Archbishop Farley; perhaps her 
dream of a Spanish church may yet be fulfilled.** Faithful 
to his promise, Mr. Huntington then offered Archbishop 
Farley land worth $75,000, adjoining the site of the Hispanic 
Society, and $25,000 as the nucleus of a church building 
fund, provided the Spanish colony or some individual would 
raise an equal contribution. The Archbishop immediately 
placed upon the Augustinian Fathers of the Assumption the 
responsibility of raising the equal amount. This task was 

^The only place of worship where Spanish-speaking people used then to meet was 
the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe (229 West 14th Street). It was established in 
1902 and is really the parent of the beautiful uptown structure. Both parishes are under 
the care of the Augustinian Fathers of the Assumption. 

23 



accomplished through long and earnest efforts by the 
Reverend Fathers with the splendid aid of Miss Maria de 
Barril. The latter gave herself up entirely to that task and 
she infused her enthusiasm into all the people to whom she 
appealed. She first organized a successful concert at the 
Waldorf-Astoria, thus realizing 5,000 dollars. Art exhibits, 
musicales and various other forms of entertainment brought 
a few thousands more. But it was not only the gold of the 
rich, but also and mostly the pennies of the poor, that built 
Nuestra Senora de la Esperanza. Yes, indeed, the greatest 
part of the contributions was made up of small offerings 
collected by the Augustinian Fathers of the Asstmiption and 
the Committee they had appointed to help raise ftmds. 
The members of that Committee were: 

Rev. Father Thomas Darboy, A. A., Pastor of Our Lady 

of Guadalupe, President. 
Mr. Nicolas Saenz, a Colombian, Chairman. 
Mr. Alberto Falcon, a Peruvian. 
Mr. Antonio Gonzalez, a Cuban. 
Mr. Manuel Martinez, a Spaniard. 
Mr. Alberto Leon, a Mexican. 

When the Rev. Father Thomas Darboy retired, in 1908, 
he was succeeded on the Committee by the Rev. Father 
Adrian Buisson, an Assumptionist himself, who spared neither 
his time nor his energy to make the enterprise a success. 
His personal appeals to the Spanish-speaking people of this 
city and his unremitting zeal proved to be one of the greatest 
assets in the happy realization of an achievement upon which 
he had once set his heart. Although a Frenchman by birth, 
Father Adrian Buisson has been rector of the Church ever 
since its opening. He was ordained to the priesthood at 
Osma (Spain) in 1887. After seven years' service among the 
Spaniards, in whose ideals, culture and language he had been 

24 




REVEREND ADRIAN BUISSON, A.A. 
Rector of the Church 



carefully nurtured, he went as a missionary to Chile (South 
America), where he spent thirteen more years. He has 
been ministering to the Spanish-speaking people of New York 
City ever since 1902, and he is looked upon by them all as 
their most disinterested friend and beloved pastor, nay more, 
as one of their own race. 

El Calendario Mensual, the then monthly publication 
of Our Lady of Guadalupe, for many months contained in 
its issues long lists of subscriptions, some from the wealthy, 
but very many more from people of limited means, whom the 
Committee induced to take part in such a worthy enterprise 
and show their appreciation of Mr. Huntington's generous 
initiative. 



as 




CHAPTER II 

ERECTION AND DEDICATION OF THE SPANISH CHURCH 

The architect — Laying of the cornerstone — The dedicatory inscription — Decoration 
fund — ^A great artist, Mr. Caryl Coleman — Opening of the Church — The Con- 
secration. 

I HE eminent architect who designed the adjoining 
buildings, Mr. Charles P. Huntington, had been 
entrusted with drawing the plan of the new 
temple. The construction started as soon as 
the designs were approved of. The cornerstone 
was laid by the Rt. Rev. Mgr. Michael J. Lavelle, then 
Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York, on the ninth 
of April, 1912. On that occasion a Latin inscription on 
parchment was enclosed and sealed in the cornerstone; it 
reads as follows: 

A. R. T. 
HuNC Lapidem Angularem 
2EDIS, NoBiLissiMi ViRi Archer M. Huntington 

MUNIFICENTISSIM^ DOMIN.E MaRLE DE BaRRIL 
Et HiSPANORUM FiDELIUM DONIS ^DIFICATiE 

In Honorem Beat^ Mari^ Virginis 

Qu^ Est "SPES" Nostra; 

RssiMus Michael J. Lavelle V. G. Hujus Diocesis 

Gloriose Regnante PIO PAPA X 

Archiepiscopo Neo Eboracensis Joanne Card. Farley 

Augustiniensium ab Assumptione Superiore Generali 

RssiMO. Emmanuel Bailly 

Feliciter Regnante in Hispania Alphonso XHI 

America Septentrionalis Reipublice Guillermo Taft Preside 

Status Neo Eboracensis J. A. Dix Pr^efecto 

Civitatis Neo Eboracensis W. J. Gaynor Majore 

Architectone Carolo p. Huntington 

PiCTURiE Operis et Ecclesi^ Instrumentorum Artifice Caryl Coleman 

Anno Salutis MDCCCCXII 

Die IX Aprilis 

Solemni Pr^ecatione Lustra vit ac Posuit 

26 



Translation: 

THY KINGDOM COME! 

The Cornerstone of this Church 

Biiilt with the offerings 

Of a very noble gentleman Archer M. Huntington 

And those of a very generous lady Maria de Barril 

And of the Spanish-speaking faithful 

In honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

Who is our "HOPE" 

The Very Rev. Mgr. Michael J. Lavelle Vicar General of this Diocese 

Under the glorious reign of Pope Pius X 

John Cardinal Farley being Archbishop of New York 

The Very Rev. Emmanuel Bailly 

Being Superior General of the Augustinian Fathers of the Assumption 

Alfonso XIII happily reigning over Spain 

William Taft being President of the Northern American Republic 

J. A. Dix being Governor of the State of New York 

W. J. Gaynor being Mayor of the City of New York 

Charles P. Huntington being the architect 

Caryl Coleman being the designer of the decorations and furniture of the Church 

In the year of our Salvation MDCCCCXII 

On the IXth of April 

With solemn invocation blessed and laid 

When the btiilder, Mr. John Clark Udal, had finished the 
rough construction of the church, it was then reaUzed that 
it was but a shell with no money left for its furnishing and 
decoration. The collection of no less than an additional 
$50,000 was therefore undertaken by Miss Maria de Barril 
among her influential friends. Several people of prominence 
and large means, some of them not belonging to the Catholic 
Church, then showed, in the most pleasing manner, their 
willingness to cooperate in the execution of so beautiful a 
project. Their names will be subsequently mentioned with 
the kind of gifts they presented to the church. 

Mrs. Collis P. Huntington generously started the new 
fund with a check for $5,000. Almost from the start gifts 
of rare value came from America and Eiurope. 

The decoration of the interior was then placed in the hands 
of Mr. Caryl Coleman, a New York artist. This erudite 
authority on ecclesiastical art devised and executed a decora- 

27 



tive scheme which virtually converts Our Lady of Esperanza 
into a literal substantiation of the title ^' House of Gold/* 
given to the Blessed Virgin in her Litany. 

The little Spanish Church was first blessed and opened 
for public worship on July 21, 1912, by His Eminence Cardinal 
Farley, with a pomp which attracted a throng of Church 
and civic dignitaries. Mgr. Patrick J. Hayes, at that time 
Chancellor of the Archdiocese of New York, sang the mass and 
the Rev. Fr. Stephen Chaboud, provincial of the Augustinian 
Fathers of the Assumption, delivered the sermon in Spanish. 
At the close of the service His Eminence Cardinal Farley 
made a short address and in the course of some very happy 
remarks pointed out that this Temple of God had been built 
under exceptional circtimstances — the principal benefactor 
being a non-Catholic. This cannot be said of any other 
church in New York. Truly then may be applied to it the 
Scripture's sentence which is engraved on the frieze of the 
building, Non fecit taliter omni nationi (He hath not 
done in like manner to every nation) Psal. cxlvii: 20. 
His Eminence further said that there was no church within 
the Archdiocese, and he knew of no other within the United 
States, so complete from every point of view as Our Lady 
of Esperanza. 

It was less than one year after, on Sunday, April 20, 1913, 
that the new temple was solemnly consecrated with beautiful 
and impressive ceremonies. The consecration proper took 
place privately on Saturday, April 19, the Rt. Rev. Thomas 
F. Cusack, Auxiliary Bishop of New York, officiating, and the 
service on Sunday was in celebration of that great occasion* 
At the close of the Mass His Eminence again made an address 
in which he congratulated the Spanish people on having a 
consecrated church of their own and he praised anew the 
generosity of those — Catholic or non-Catholic — ^who had 
liberally contributed to the building and furnishing of the 
edifice. After tendering his warmest felicitations to the 
Augustinian Fathers of the Assimiption, who are charged 

28 



with the administration of the beautiful church, His Eminence 
expressed his admiration for that grand old Catholic nation, 
Spain, and all that she has done through the ages for the faith 
of Christ. ''But for the Spanish people," he continued, 
"we would have but little Christianity on this continent. 
They fought the Moors for 800 years for the sake of religion, 
a feat that has not been equaled in all history. When the 
Moor breathed his last sigh in Spain, the Spanish people were 
free. They were enabled to people this continent and the 
result is that there are about 74,000,000 professing the faith 
in Latin-America today. I believe this thought was in the 
minds of those who contributed to make this edifice a monu- 
ment to the Spanish people." 

Among the personages who attended the ceremonies of 
the consecration were: His Excellency Don Juan Riafio, 
Ambassador of Spain to the United States; Mr. Archer P. 
Huntington; Mr. and Mrs. Frederic W. Vanderbilt; Mr. 
Thomas F. Ryan; Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Courtland Penfield; 
Miss Maria de Barril; Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Coudert; 
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hugh Kelly; Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey 
Depew; Mr. John D. Crimmins; several representatives of 
the South American Republics and a score of distinguished 
churchmen from both the sectilar and regular clergy. 



29 




CHAPTER III 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 

The outside of the Church — ItaHan Renaissance style — The terrace and portico — 
The inside of the Temple — Symbolism of the Church — "House of Gold" — Deco- 
rative scheme — General outline of the interior. 

IXTERIOR.— The Church of Our Lady of 
Esperanza rests, as it has been said, on 156th 
Street, West of Broadway, upon the knoll of 
Old Audubon Park, overlooking the Hudson, 
which runs like a silver thread at its feet, and 
opposite the Palisades of New Jersey. Its level is some twenty 
feet above the street and its roof line about even with that of 
its sister buildings. It is reached from the street by a flight 
of thirty steps, broken by two landings. The steps are made 
of buff bricks, ornamented with buff terra-cotta balustrades, 
and lead to a small terrace in front of the building. This 
terrace itself has a terra-cotta balustrade supporting bronze 
lamps. The red brick pavements, steps and courtyard form 
indeed a picturesque setting for the group of stately buildings 
crowning the hill and in the brilHant rays of the sun, or after a 
shower of rain, shine resplendent, the cement forming innumer- 
able white lines in methodical order, toning down the warm 
color of the bricks to a pleasant harmony. 

The Church, in keeping with the other buildings, is an 
adapted style of the Italian Renaissance, following the type 
of the most beautiful ecclesiastical structures in Italy. It is 
distinctly Roman in design. 

Apart from early Christian art, Spain never had a dis- 
tinctive ecclesiastical architecture. From the invasion of the 
Moors in the Ninth Century to their expulsion, in 1492, she 
clung to the earliest Gothic. She was wholly unaffected by the 
architecture of the Moors despite the fact that she recognized 

30 



their superior artistic training and employed them extensively 
as builders and decorators of her cathedrals, churches and 
monasteries. Spain, like all Europe, was influenced by the 
early and later Italian Renaissance. She retained, however, 
as does every nation, certain inherent qualities which are 
best defined as feeling. It is this Spanish feeling that both 
architect and decorator have aimed to embody in Our Lady 
of Esperanza. 

The Church has a portico of four Ionic columns of terra- 
cotta surmounted by an ornamented pediment and cross of 
the same material. A Latin inscription, taken from the Holy 
Writ, is engraved on the frontispiece; it reads: *' Non fecit 
taliter omni nationi'' \ that is, ''He hath not done in like 
manner to every nation." Over the inscription, right in the 
center of the pediment, stands out the name of the Blessed 
Virgin Mary in its monogrammatic form. Unlike the other 
buildings of the group, which are of grey limestone, the Church 
is built of buff bricks with terra-cotta cornices and trim, 
crowned by an ornamented terra-cotta balustrade. The 
change in material relieves the eyes and varies the color. 

Interior. — Catholic churches are generally impressed 
with symbolism of the highest order. Both their external 
and internal arrangements are adapted to awaken and aid 
devotion by raising our minds, hearts and senses to God. 
Our Lady of Esperanza is, in its minutest details, a pure 
work of symbolism. This statement I expect to substantiate 
in the course of this descriptive book. 

When possible, churches are built on a height, and so is 
Our Lady of Esperanza. Why? Because of old, high 
places were considered sacred and under the Old Law God 
frequently manifested Himself to men on a mountain; more- 
over, on a hill one is further aloof from the noise of the busy 
world and nearer to God. Furthermore, Christ said the 
church was to be built upon a rock, and He Himself was cru- 
cified upon the hill of Calvary. 

In regard to the interior, Catholic churches are divided 

31 



into three parts — the vestibule y where in the early days of Chris- 
tianity catechumens and penitents used to kneel, and at the 
entrance of which we see the Holy Stoup, reminding us that 
we ought to approach God with pure hearts; the nave, which 
is the part appropriated to the faithful, and wherein, as in 
Noah^s Ark, they are saved from eternal perdition; the 
sanctuary J in which the High Altar is placed, and which is 
separated from the nave by a rail or communion table. 
Over the High Altar is the Tabernacle, wherein the Blessed 
Sacrament is reserved, and before which a lamp is kept per- 
petually burning. The statues or pictures of saints and 
angels, which are to be seen in every Catholic church, remind 
us of those holy servants of God and heavenly spirits who 
assist unseen at the sacred offices. 

The ^'dim religious light*' that pervades the building, 
owing to the colored glass of the windows, reminds us that 
here below we understand the things of God only in a dark 
manner. Those people who say that it is unnecessary to go 
to church, because they can say their prayers anywhere, should 
consider that in Catholic churches Our Lord is actually pres- 
ent upon our altars, that the atmosphere of the sacred edifice 
disposes us to recollection and that petitions offered there have 
more power than those offered elsewhere. 

Two staircases lead from the vestibule to the galleries 
and organ loft. The vestibule opens into the body of the 
church, which is eighty feet deep and forty-two wide, with a 
seating capacity of three hundred. The nave is formed by 
high round arches crowned by a dome and a flat stained 
glass skylight. 

According to The Architectural Record^ this is the only 
New York church known to architect or decorator with 
nave illuminated by a flat skylight roof. The aisles, on either 
side of the nave, are broken by galleries, with balconies between 
the arches. These side aisles are lighted by six beautiful stained 
glass memorial windows of American design and English execu- 

^The Architectural Record f January, 1913. 

32 




CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF ESPERANZA 



tion. The organ loft occupies the high arch opposite the 
sanctuary, right over the main entrance door. From the 
sanctuary niche doors open on either side into the sacristies. 

What impresses the visitor on entering this Httle church 
is a feeUng of mysterious respect, mingled with silent admira- 
tion, at the beauty of this rutilant gem. One cannot help 
being deeply impressed with the perfect harmony of the 
whole interior decorative scheme. The sunlight through 
the green and blue and cardinal tones of the stained glass 
windows produces an unusually artistic effect on the gold 
walls and the superb altars of yellow Siena marble. Our 
Lady of Esperanza is unlike anything else of its kind in 
America. It is such a devotional and restful place that those 
who have once prayed within its sanctified walls are held by 
its charms for ever. Very few churches wield such a singular 
fascination. Our Lady of Esperanza seems to breathe an 
atmosphere of art and religion that instils the worshipper 
with calm and peace. Therein the presence of the super- 
natural becomes obvious and the senses experience a sharp 
separation from worldly things. Such a wonderful appeal 
to the heart and mind is directly influenced by the harmony 
of the interior furnishings, the perfection of the altars, the 
beauty of the statues and paintings, the glittering splendor 
of the walls and the radiance of the stained glass windows. 

The decorations and furnishings of Our Lady of Esperanza 
are practically the fulfilment of one of the dreams of the 
artist's life. This dream had its inception when as a boy 
Mr. Caryl Coleman went to Italy to pursue his art studies. 
^'In Genoa, when I was a boy,*' said Mr. Coleman, "I was 
immensely impressed with the Gold Church of the Annun- 
ciata. I went back to it when I was a grown man with the 
eyes of the artist, the craftsman. The impression of boyhood 
deepened and I said to myself, some day, wherever the 
opportunity presents itself, I shall make a gold church in the 
United States." 

With the passing of the years Mr. Coleman felt his dream 

33 



grow more and more remote, but suddenly the possibility 
of its realization came to him when the decoration of the 
Spanish church was put in his hands. So he planned his 
design of gold and green, the exquisite rendering of which 
goes so far toward the beauty of the interior of the chapel. 
As there was no money for the precious metal, Mr. Caryl 
Coleman tried to find a substitute. The first step in the 
metalizing process was secured by lining the entire wall space 
with aluminum. In the treatment of alumintim for gold 
effects artists had heretofore been using alcohol in mixing 
the glazes. The result, with the passing of time, has been 
faded, washed out, greyish tones with scarcely a suggestion 
of the original gold tint. By substituting oil for alcohol in 
the mixing process of glazes, Mr. Coleman has obtained 
veritable gold effects that promise the wear of the real metal. 

Upon this metallic background the entire plain wall 
surface is covered with a Spanish silk brocade of Renaissance 
design. This design is worked out in a green gold glaze 
against a yellow gold background. 

The vault of the half dome of the sanctuary and the coves 
of the ceiling are finished in plain hammered metal. In the 
soffits of the arches is a Renaissance design carrying the word 
"pax" (peace). Emblazoned in the gold frieze, which en- 
circles the entire auditorium, are the words of our Blessed 
Lord to St. Peter '^ Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram 
(Bdificaho Ecclesiam meant et portce inferi non prevalehunt 
adversus earn''; that is, "Thou art Peter and upon this rock 
I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it." (St. Mathew xvi:18.)i 

Upon the spandrils of the great arches, worked out with 
transparent colors against the gold background, are four 
winged angels sounding the trumpet, while on the spandrils 

i"Peter" signifies a "rock," therefore the words of Christ to Peter spoken in the 
vulgar language of the Jews, which Our Lord made use of, were the same as if He had 
said in English, ''Thou art a Rock and upon this rock I will build my Church." "The 
Gates of Hell" mean the powers of darkness and whatever Satan or his agents can do. 
By this promise we are fully assured that neither idolatry, heresy nor any pernicious error 
whatsoever shall at any time prevail over the Church of Christ. 

34 



of the small arches the four evangelists are introduced under 
the form of cherubs holding a scroll bearing the respective 
names of St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John. 
Here it is to be regretted that the artist has not represented 
the foiu: evangelists under their well known emblematic 
designs which are the man, the lion, the ox and the eagle. 
But, at all events, it was fitting that in this temple, dedicated 
to the glory of God and in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 
mention should be made of the fotu* evangelists, since the 
Catholic Church styles our Blessed Mother "Queen of 
Evangelists/' 



35 



PART II 
THE SANCTUARY 



CHAPTER I 



THE HIGH ALTAR 




Sanctuary — The altar and the mass — •Memorial inscription — Technical description 
of the high altar — The tabernacle door — -The tabernacle key — The tabernacle 
veil — The cross and candlesticks — Chalices and ciborium — Chasuble. 

'HE sanctuary of a church is that space set aside 
and railed off from the nave, and reserved 
exclusively for the High Altar and the clergy. 
The word ''sanctuary" comes down to us from 
the Bible, and designates the Holy of Holies in 
the Temple of the Old Testament. 

The sanctuary is also called ''apsis" or "concha" because 
of its shell-like, hemispherical dome. However, it would 
be wrong to believe that the sanctuary has always had a 
semi-circular formation, for a portion of the middle nave is 
often enclosed with rails and added to the sanctuary. 

In the Middle Ages, when Gothic architecture was at its 
height, the architects, in consequence of the improved vault- 
ing, conducted the side aisles around the choir. This trans- 
formation made the sanctuary accessible on all sides, so that 
the faithful could reach the immediate vicinity of the High 
Altar. 

Like those of many other churches of the Renaissance 
type, the sanctuary of the Church of Our Lady of Esperanza 
retains the old form of a hemispherical dome, and instead of 
being shut off from the rest of the church, it beautifully 
stands out before the worshipper in a brilliancy of light, 
so that every person entering the edifice through the main 
door commands a free view of the High Altar, the master- 
piece of the church. 

The two pilasters supporting the arch of the sanctuary 
dome are ornamented, from top to base, with a handsome 

39 



foliage interwoven with a scroll, bearing sentences from the 
Gospel relative to the Holy Eucharist. On the left side 
pilasters we read these words, taken from the sixth chapter 
of St. John, verse 59: Hie est pants qui de ccelo descendit. 
(This is the bread that came down from heaven.) The 
words inscribed on the right pilaster are taken from the same 
chapter and verse of St. John: Qui manducat hunc panem 
vivet in cBternum. (He that eateth this bread shall live forever.) 
Above the sanctuary doors, leading into the sacristies, we 
read, on the left wall : Adveniat regum tuum. (Thy Kingdom 
come), and on the right wall: Propter amor en Domini IX, 
(For the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.) 

The High Altar 

The High Altar is, no doubt, the masterpiece of the golden 
church. So successfully have architect and decorator collabo- 
rated that it is apparent to the untutored eye that the church 
was built to enshrine it. The sanctuary floor of marble and 
mosaics, and the Siena marble communion rail, and its bronze 
door, are all worked out on lines in well studied harmony 
with the High Altar. 

All these are the gifts of Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Courtland 
Penfield. Mr. Penfield was the last Ambassador of the United 
States of America to Vienna before the World War and the 
downfall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 

A bronze tablet, made by the Gorham Company, is 
fastened to the right side of the High Altar, and bears testi- 
mony to the devotion and generosity of the donors. The 
following inscription is engraved thereon: 

esta iglesia y este altar 

fueron consagrados por su senoria illustrisima 

Thomas F. Cusack 

Obispo auxiliar de Nueva York 

El dia 19 de Abril del ano 1913 

La misa solemne de consagracion 

PrESIDIDA POR SU eminencia 

John Cardenal Farley 
Arzobispo de Nueva York 

40 



FUE CELEBRADA EL DIA 20 DE AbRIL 

Del ano 1913 
Dedicado 

FOR 

Frederic Courtland Penfield 

Y 

Anne Weightman de Penfield 

AL 

Honor y gloria de Dios 



E imperecedero recuerdo 

De su amada amiga 

Jessie Perry Van Zile Belden 

Translation: 

This church and this altar 

Were consecrated by his most illustrious lordship 

Thomas F. Cusack 

Auxiliary bishop of New York 

On the 19th of April in the year 1913 * 

The solemn Mass of consecration 

Presided over by His Eminence 

John Cardinal Farley 

Archbishop of New York 

Was celebrated on the 20th of April 

Of the year 1913 

Dedicated 

by 

Frederic Courtland Penfield 

and 
Anne Weightman de Penfield 

to 

The honor and glory of God 

And to the perpetual memory 

Of their beloved friend 

Jessie Perry Van Zile Belden 

Speaking of the altars of the church of Our Lady of Espe- 
ranza, the architect had this to say: "Their beauty of color, 
the rich yellow Siena marble, carved as only Italy can carve, 
the proportions of their parts, their complete harmony with 
each other and the architecture of the church, place them 
among the handsomest altars in New York." 

"I do hope this royal extravagance for God's house will 
always abide with us," said His Eminence Cardinal Farley, 
in his address at the opening of the new temple. Nothing, 
of course, can be too magnificent for the King of Heaven, 
for to us. Catholics, the main altar of our churches is the 

41 



principal attraction, and this for two obvious reasons. First, 
it is the earthly abode of our Lord Jesus Christ, really present 
in the Tabernacle with His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, 
under the appearance of the Holy Ghost, enclosed in the 
Ciboritun; secondly, because it is the consecrated stone 
table, enriched with the relics of martyrs upon which the 
priest, as representative of Christ, celebrates, every morning, 
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and changes the bread and wine 
into the Body and Blood of Christ. True, indeed, Holy 
Mass is the supreme act of worship, continually offered up, 
as foretold by the prophet Malachias i: 11. ''From the 
rising of the sun to the going down, my name is great among 
the gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice and there is 
offered to my name a clean oblation." 

The lamp that hangs down from the sanctuary dome, 
and whose flickering rays sparkle day and night, symbolizes 
Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. It also reminds us 
that Jesus is actually present there, and that our hearts also 
should be burning out for Him, in perpetual adoration and 
love. 

It is the Real Presence of Our Lord that accounts for the 
religious atmosphere which pervades Catholic churches; 
it is the Real Presence again that instils the hearts of the 
faithful with cogent respect and turns every Catholic place of 
worship, even the poorest, into a corner of Heaven. Away 
then with worldly thoughts, idle talking, and unchristian 
demeanor in this Temple. Dios estd aqui. (God is here.) 

When the first beams of the sun light up the glories of 
this beautiful edifice, the High Altar stands out in the golden 
shrine as a jewel in its precious setting. It is typically 
Roman in both structure and detail, and is similar to the altar 
in the Pantheon in Rome. The fagade consists of two 
pilasters, supporting an entablement above which springs 
an arch. In front of each pilaster is a Corinthian column, 
supporting a boxed entablature, which is returned from the 
main one. Between the columns, upon the altar proper, 

42 




THE HIGH ALTAR AND ALTAR RAIL 



stands the Tabernacle, the small and ornamented cell in 
which the Blessed Sacrament is kept, and the retable, or 
reredos consisting of three raised shelves and of an elaborate 
framework, specially built for the gorgeous niche which shelters 
the statue of Our Lady. Of the niche and statue we shall 
speak in the following chapter. 

The columns are Roman Corinthian, fluted with fillets, 
each standing on a plinth; the torus is richly carved with a 
Roman leaf motive. The smaller moldings are also embel- 
lished by a classic ornament. The cap is a beautiful example 
of the Corinthian, the abacus being supported by elegant 
scrolls and by cherubs which harmoniously unfold from the 
acanthus leaves and whose outspread wings unite with the 
scrolls. The pilasters behind the coltmms are panelled with 
just enough ornamentation not to detract from the effect 
of the highly finished Corinthian coltmms in front. 

The entablature, which is so effectively broken to extend 
over the columns, is classic Roman and highly decorated. 
The cyma recta of the cornice is ornamented by a Roman leaf 
design, and the smaller moldings are carved with the bead and 
reel. The oval is embellished with an egg and tongue carving. 
Below is the classic dentil, blending beautifully with the 
spacings of the festoons, which decorate the frieze. The 
front of the frieze, above each column, is panelled and decorated 
with a single garland of the same pattern as the rest of the 
motive. The architrave is imadomed. 

The arch, which springs above the entablature, between 
the columns, is plain in sections, and is embellished with a 
relief of bay leaves, bound with a spiral band, this band 
crossing over at three points to form circles within which are 
carved rosettes. The soffit is beautified by a series of rosettes. 
The tympanum is a semi-circular slab of Italian white marble, 
with a bas-relief of the Virgin and Child, flanked by two 
adoring angels, the whole most artistically filling the space. 
The panel stands upon the entablatvire and adds to the unity 
of the design. 

43 



The Altar proper, upon which stands the Tabernacle, 
consists of a long panel, on either side of which is a pilaster or 
pedestal. Each is relieved by panels, the lower one being 
carved with a leaf design, the upper square one with a rosette. 
The unity of the Altar is maintained by a cornice, with a well 
proportioned cyma recta and a base of appropriate height. 
The frontal between the pilasters is a marble mosaic having 
a design of circles. This is Roman in conception, but shows 
a trace of Moorish or Spanish feehng in its application. 

The Door of the Tabernacle 

The door of the Tabernacle is a gem of Christian sym- 
bolism and of the smith's art. It is made of bars of gilded 
bronze repousse and chiselled work, enriched with trans- 
parent enamel, grading from a silver tone to a deep emerald. 
The condensed symbols used by Mr. Caryl Coleman upon this 
exquisite background were taken from a Spanish Charter, 
dated 1145. We descry first the usual monogram of Christ, 
consisting of the X and P interwoven; but, what strikes the 
observer, after a close scrutiny of the masterpiece, is the 
tau (T) placed over the X and P. 

This T is the sign which the Jews marked on the door- 
posts of their houses with the blood of the lamb, which was 
sacrificed at the time of the Passover. It is sometimes called 
the Cross of the Old Testament, and was often used by the 
early Christians, in union with their monograms of the 
Sacred Names. At the foot of the T is a sigma (S), the last 
letter in the usual abbreviation of Christ's name in Greek: 
XPS. Now on each side of the golden cipher are the Alpha 
and Om.ega. These are the names of the first and last letters 
of the Greek alphabet, and they typify Our Blessed Lord. 

In the first chapter, verse 8, of the Apocalypse of St. John 
we read: " I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, 
saith the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, 
the Almighty.^' These words signify that God is the first 
cause and last end of all beings, and they have always been 

44 



applied to Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Who is to 
come again, and judge the living and the dead. 

In the first ages of the Church, while persecutions were 
raging, the early Christians used to recognize each other by- 
such monogrammic signs. 

A Latin inscription runs around the door, and reads as 
follows: Ecce panis Angelorum. Qui manducat meant carnem 
et hihit meum sangiiinem in me manet et ego in illo (Behold 
the Bread of Angels. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh 
my blood abide th in me, and I in him). These last words, 
which are taken from St. John's gospel (vi: 57), are a divine 
invitation, nay a precept, to receive the Body and Blood of 
Christ. This precept the faithful fulfill, each time they 
approach the Holy Table, though they receive but in one 
kind, because in one kind they receive both Body and Blood, 
which cannot be separated from each other. Hence life 
eternal is here promised to the worthy receiving, though 
but under one Species. 

The Tabernacle Key 

It was proper that the Tabernacle door of the High Altar 
should be fitted with a key of similar beauty and richness, for, 
as the church was built to enshrine the altar, so the altars were 
made up to enhance the Tabernacle, this earthly dwelling of 
Otir Lord, Jesus Christ, in the Blessed Sacrament. Nothing 
indeed is too costly nor too precious for this Divine Master. 
Do we not read in the Gospel of St. Matthew (xxvi: 6-10). 

6. When Jesus was in Bethania in the house of Simon, the leper, 

7. There came to him a woman having an alabaster box of precious ointment 
and poured it on his head as he was at table, 

8. And the disciples seeing it, had indignation, saying: To what purpose is this 
waste? 

9 For this might have been sold for much and given to the poor. 
10. And Jesus, knowing it, said to them: "Why do you trouble this woman? for 
she hath wrought a good work upon me." 

The noble woman who so generously devoted herself to rais- 
ing funds for the furnishing of this church never for a moment 

45 



lost sight of these words of Christ. To set an example 
to others, she gave up the jewels which once belonged to her 
mother, Sefiora de Laverrerie de Barril, and handed them to 
the goldsmith to be converted into a key. 

That masterpiece of Christian art was designed by Mr. 
Caryl Coleman, and is made of pure gold, and set with diamonds. 
The gold is hammered in the form of a fish, for we know from 
monumental sources that the symbolic fish was familiar to 
Christians since the first decade of the Second Century. 

The symbol itself may have been suggested by the miracu- 
lous mtiltiplication of the loaves and fishes, or the repast of 
the Seven Disciples after the Resurrection, on the shore of 
the Sea of Galilee, but its popularity among Christians was 
due principally to the famous acrostic, consisting of the initial 
letters of five Greek words, forming the word for fish^ which 
words briefly describe the character of Christ and His claims 
to the worship of believers. They mean exactly: "Jesus Christ, 
Son of God, Saviour." 

The Greek word for fish then, as well as the representation 
of the fish itself, held for Christians a meaning of the highest 
significance. The association of the fish with the Holy 
Eucharist is also strongly emphasized in the Christian monu- 
ments of the three first centuries, such as frescoes, sculptured 
representations, rings, seals, gilded glasses and caskets of 
various materials. 

The Tabernacle Key of the Church of Our Lady of Esper- 
anza has therefore the form of a fish. Moreover, the Greek 
letters, alpha and omega, and the Greek word itself for fish, 
appear on one side of the handle of the key, in gold letters, 
buried in transparent green enamel, surrounded by the words 
Nuestra Sefiora de la Esperanza (Our Lady of Hope) . On the 
reverse side is the name of Jesus, in its monographic form: 
IHS, with the following memorial inscription : Alamemoria 
de Manuela de Laverrerie de Barril (To the memory of Manu- 

iIcHTHYS, the Greek word for fish, has represented graphically since the Second 
Century the celebrated acrostic: Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter. (Jesus Christ, 
Son of God, Saviour.) 

46 



ela de Laverrerie de Barril). The tabernacle key described 
here is very seldom used. 

Cross and Candlesticks of the High Altar 

The Cross and six large Candlesticks on the High Altar, 
a gift of Mrs. Frederick W. Vanderbilt, are well worth mention- 
ing, so is the Missal stand, which matches them. They are 
made of gilded bronze and green enamel. Excepting the 
body of the Cross, which is a reproduction from an Italian 
work of the Fifteenth Century, Mr. Caryl Coleman asserts that 
the whole is absolutely original in design. ''Debarring the 
motif, which is that of the Renaissance period," says Mr. 
Coleman, ''they are absolutely original. In making the 
designs, I transported myself back into the spirit and feeling 
of mediaeval Spain, as far as possible, for a Twentieth Century 
man." 

The gilded metal, intersected with the green colored enamels, 
harmonizes in style and color with the general tone of the 
church, so that the whole is in complete unison with the 
architectural character of the buildings, making of Our Lady 
of Esperanza not only a thing of beauty but an '^auditorium 
of Christian art, perfect in its minutest details." 

Tabernacle Veil 

On certain great feasts the door of the Tabernacle is 
veiled by two exquisite curtains, which are marvellous ex- 
amples of Renaissance art. They were made in Seville, and 
are the gift of the Misses Cristina and Leocadia de Laverrerie. 
These ctirtains or veils are rare bullion work, with various 
insets of the most artistic design. 

In the lower comers of the first veil are, on one side, the 
Roman numbers of the year in which the chiu*ch was opened 
(mdccccxii), and coinciding with the Eucharistic Congress, 
held in Madrid, are the words from the Congress hymn : Dios 
estd aqui (God is here), and the arms of Pope Pius X, of 

47 



blessed memory. On the other side are embroidered the coat 
of arms of Spain: the Hon and the castle. In the center of 
this first veil is represented the Holy Host, surrounded with 
sheaves of wheat. 

In one corner of the second veil can be seen the Arms of 
the Church of Seville, which represent St. Ferdinand, the 
warrior king, seated on a chair, and on either side, Sts. 
Isidore and Leander, both Archbishops of Seville ; in the other 
corner are embroidered the arms of the city, bearing a heraldic 
inscription meaning Fidelity. The center of this second veil 
is adorned with a chalice, surrounded by grapes. All of this 
work is miscroscopic, but it seems as if the fingers of angels 
had been employed in this masterpiece of art, so incomparably 
beautiful are the designs and so perfect the details. 

Chalices and Ciboriums 

Among all the sacred vessels of a church, a chalice occupies 
the first place, for it is used daily at the Holy Sacrifice of the 
Mass, to hold the wine, which is to be changed into the Most 
Precious Blood of Our Lord. 

A chalice consists of a round knop, short stem, broad 
firm base, and a wide, rather shallow cup, assuming the tulip 
shape. The material is generally gold or silver, but the 
interior of the cup must always be lined with gold. The 
ornamentation is more or less elaborate or stimptuous, for it 
is to contain the Blood of Christ. 

The Church of Our Lady of Esperanza possesses several 
beautiful chalices, one of which was donated by the Queen 
Mother of Spain, Her Majesty Dofia Maria Cristina, whose 
secretary wrote the following to His Eminence Cardinal 
Farley a few months after the church was opened: 

Eminence: Madrid, 24th of October, 1912. 

I have the honor to inform you that Her Majesty Queen Maria Cristina, desiring 
to follow the example of His Majesty King Alfonso XHI, in making an artistic present 
to the Catholic Church of Our Lady of Esperanza, in New York, wishes me to announce 
to Your Eminence the arrival of a gold chalice and paten, which Her Majesty is 
extremely pleased to donate to the above-mentioned church. 

48 




^^^^'^*-"°-"-'--- 





'^■i X. 







CHASUBLE 
Gift of Don Fernando Maria and Dona Maria Teresa 



Another beautiful chalice has been presented to this 
church by a Cuban lady, Senora Herminia Bolivar de Mira, 
who gave her most precious jewels and diamonds, that they 
might be inlaid on the base of the Sacred Vessel. 

A ciborium is another sacred vessel, in which the Blessed 
Sacrament or Consecrated Species is preserved. It is also 
used for distributing Holy Communion to the faithful. In 
shape, the ciborium resembles a chalice, but the cup, or 
bowl, is round rather than oblong, and provided with a conical 
cover, surmounted by a cross. It is generally made of gold 
or silver, but like the chalice, it must always be lined with 
gold. Both chalice and ciborium must be consecrated by the 
Bishop, before they can be used. 

One of the ciboriums, which this church prizes most, is a 
gift of Her Royal Highness Infanta Paz of Spain, an aunt of 
King Alfonso XIII. This magnificent vessel, which is 
rarely used, is inlaid with two hundred diamonds, and also 
numbers of emeralds, rubies and other precious stones. These 
jewels form a simple, but beautiful, setting for the enamelled 
coat of arms of Spain — two lions and two castles — which 
adorns the base of the ciborium and cover. Just above 
it is a royal crown, set in diamonds. These jewels were, at 
one time, the personal property of Isabel II, who reigned over 
Spain from 1833 to 1868, and died in Paris in 1904. 

The base of the ciborium is engraven with the following 
inscription: Para la Iglesia de Na, Sra. de la Esperanzay 
Infanta Paz (To the Church of Our Lady of Esperanza, 
Infanta Paz). 

Chasuble 

Among the ecclesiastical vestments, donated to the Church 
of Our Lady of Esperanza, there is one which deserves special 
mention. It is a costly and beautiful hand-embroidered 
chasuble, sent from Spain by the sister of King Alfonso 
XIII, Her Royal Highness Infanta Maria Teresa, wife of Don 
Fernando Maria, Prince of Bavaria. 

49 



This noble and devout lady died September 23, 1912, after 
the vestment had been shipped to this country. Part of the 
embroidery was done by the Princess herself. 

This chasuble is of white satin adorned with lilies and 
passion flowers. In the center of the back there is embroidered 
a figure of the Sacred Heart, and below is a chalice wrought 
in silk. The central figure, in the front, is a lamb, in raised 
hand work. It is lined throughout with pale pink silk, and 
in the center is the following inscription in Spanish: 

DoNADo FOR S. S. A. A. R. R. Los Sermos sres 

Don Fernando Maria y Dona Maria Teresa 

Infantes de Espana, Principes de Bayiera 

Ano de 1912 

Translation: 

Donated by Their Royal Highnesses 
The Serenissimos Sefiores, Don Fernando Maria 
And Dona Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain, and Prince 
of Bavaria. Year 1912 

Over the inscription may be seen the coat of arms of 
Spain and the coat of arms of Bavaria. 



50 




CHAPTER II 

THE STATUE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN 

The miraculous finding in Cuba — Cultus of Our Lady of Charity in Cuba — A gift from 
the Cuban people — Enthronement of the statue of Our Blessed Mother — Descrip- 
tion of the statue — Devotion to the Mother of God — The shrine. 

|N the Seventeenth Century was discovered in the 
bay of Nipe (Cuba) a miractilous statue of Our 
Blessed Lady known as *' Nueslra Senora de la 
Caridad'' (Our Lady of Charity). 

Two Indian brothers, Juan and Rodrigo de 
Joyos, with a negro boy, named Juan Morenos, were sailing 
in a small canoe along the Cuban coast in search of salt when 
a tempest suddenly arose and forced them back to the shore. 
After iovur days of compulsory rest they resumed their work. 
A short while later, while on the sea, they perceived something 
queer drifting about. They mistook it at first for a sea-bird, 
but, as they drew near it, they found, to their great surprise, 
it was a small, but beautiful, statue of the Blessed Virgin, 
standing steadily erect on a light plank. On this plank were 
engraven the words: " Yo soy la Virgen de la Caridady'' 
(I am the Virgin of Charity), the title under which the Blessed 
Virgin was to be venerated. 

The news of the happy discovery caused great joy in 
Varajagua, the nearby village. An altar for the statue was 
soon built in one of the best houses of Varajagua pending 
the erection of a small chapel into which Our Lady of Charity 
was later transferred. 

The Blessed Virgin rewarded the devotion of these people 
by working several miracles in their behalf. But these wonder- 
ful happenings were soon divulged all over the Island. 
Anxious as they were to show in a visible manner their tender 
piety toward the Blessed Mother of God, the inhabitants of 

SI 



the neighboring places held a meeting, at which old Rodrigo 
de Joyos was present, and they resolved to carry the miracu- 
lous statue to Real de Minas del Cobre, a more important 
town, fifteen miles away. This they did in order to have 
"Our Lady of Charity" in a more accessible place so that it 
might draw a greater concourse of people. A solemn pro- 
cession was therefore organized, which wended its way along 
ravines and torrents, over rocks and bushes, till it finally 
reached Real de Minas del Cobre. There the sacred image 
was enthusiastically received by the mayor, the other officials 
and all the inhabitants of the town, while a military band and 
the whole garrison were paying honor to Mary. The statue 
of Our Lady of Charity was then enthroned on the main 
altar of the parish church till a special chapel to enshrine it 
was erected on the top of a hill overlooking the city. Many 
years later this chapel was torn down to be replaced by a 
richer and larger one. But as the stream of pilgrims from 
Cuba and the West Indies was growing more and more every 
year, the chaplain of the place, Don Onofre de Fonseca, a 
devotee of the Blessed Virgin, at the close of the Seventeenth 
Century gave himself entirely to the task of gathering funds 
for building a large and beautiful temple to the heavenly 
Patroness of Cuba. The people of the Island readily entered 
into the plans of the zealous priest. Donations poured in, 
with which the magnificent church of today was erected. 
This temple is enriched with gifts of rare value, such as 
memorial tablets, gold vessels, precious stones and works of 
art of every description, all of which bear witness to the 
generosity and devotion of the Cuban people to the Blessed 
Mother. But, of course, what mainly attracts the ever- 
increasing flock of pilgrims is the miraculous statue of Our 
Lady of Charity, which is known to every dweller in the 
country, and which is held by all in great veneration. 

Where did this statue come from? An ancient tradition 
tells us that a Spanish soldier, who had a tender devotion to 
the Blessed Virgin, used to carry her image with him wherever 

52 




STATUE OF OUR LADY 
Patroness of this Church 



he went. Twenty years after Columbus had discovered 
the New World, this Spaniard quite providentially landed 
in Cuba. There he met an Indian chieftain who extended 
to him a cordial welcome and trusted him with the command 
of his warriors, for, at that time, he was waging a long and hard 
struggle against a neighboring tribe. At every encounter 
the Spaniard met with victory, so that the Indian chieftain, 
struck with admiration and surprise, asked him what was the 
marvellous power in him that yielded so magic an influence. 
The Spaniard then told him he owed his victories to the small 
statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary which he was wont to 
carry with him wherever he went. On hearing this, the 
Indian chief directed that the sacred image should be placed 
in the temple where the national idols of his tribe were kept 
and worshipped. But, having become suddenly afraid that 
this statue, to which they ascribed the victories of his army, 
might fall into the hands of his enemies, after some unsuccess- 
ful battle, he changed his mind and threw the precious image 
into one of the rivers which empties itself into the bay of 
Nipe, on the northeast coast of Oriente, a province of the 
Cuban Island. It was there that it was discovered, in the 
Seventeenth Century, as has been described at the very begin- 
ning of this chapter. 

After the War of Independence, when the Cuban Republic 
was just established on the Island, the war veterans organized 
a solemn pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Real de Minas del 
Cobre, to return thanks to Oin- Lady of Charity for the 
blessings of a victorious peace. This pilgrimage was attended 
by a large concoiu-se of people from every corner of the Island. 
From the Shrine of their Heavenly Queen the pilgrims for- 
warded a request to His Holiness Pope Leo XIII humbly 
beseeching him to officially declare Our Lady of Charity del 
Cobre the Patroness of the Cuban Republic. The Holy 
Father hastened to grant the necessary decree and this event 
was celebrated throughout the Island with great religious 
festivities. 

S3 



From that time Our Lady of Charity del Cobre has always 
been looked upon as the heavenly Protectress of Cuba; the 
people turn to her in all their sorrows and trials and Mary 
seems never weary of pouring down upon them her blessings 
and showing forth her motherly interest. What Our Lady of 
Guadalupe is to Mexico, Our Lady of Andacollo to Chile, 
Our Lady of Altagracia to Santo Domingo, Our Lady of 
Chiquinquira to Colombia, Our Lady of Lujan to Argentine, 
etc., etc.. Our Lady of Charity del Cobre is now to Cuba, 
that is, her official and acknowledged Patroness. 

In the month of October, 1918, a member of the Cuban 
colony in New York, Sefior L. Serpa, approached the Rector 
of Our Lady of Esperanza to find out whether he would 
welcome the idea of a public subscription being made in Cuba 
for presenting the Spanish Church in New York with a replica 
of the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Charity del Cobre. 
This idea having met with a hearty approval the subscription 
was immediately opened in one of the foremost newspapers 
of Havana, El Diario de la Marina, its editor, Sefior 
Nicholas Rivero, heading the list with a generous offering. 
Rich and poor alike contributed to the fund and within a 
short time the contract was given to a Spanish artist, Ramon 
Mathew, to carve a replica of the famous Cuban statue. 
The work was executed in Barcelona (Spain). It is an exact 
reproduction of the original, carved out of one piece of precious 
Cuban wood. 

When the statue was completed it was sent to Cuba where 
it was solemnly blessed by the Archbishop of Havana, this 
event being made the occasion of great religious celebrations 
in which the most distinguished people of the Island par- 
ticipated. The blessed image was afterwards shipped to 
New York and temporarily enthroned on the high altar of 
Our Lady of Esparanza, on the feast of Cuba's Independence, 
June 6, 1920. 

On Sunday, September 12, of the same year at the cele- 
bration of the patronal feast of the Church, the statue was 

54 



formally enthroned in the permanent niche especially made to 
receive it, above the tabernacle of the high altar. The church 
that day was crowded with Spanish-speaking people, mostly 
Cubans, from all parts of the city, including several South 
American Consuls and many other officials of the State. The 
rector delivered an address and paid a tribute to the faith of 
the Cuban people which inspired their beautiful gift. 

The new statue is supposed to be ''one of the finest ex- 
amples of wood carving in this city." It is eighteen inches 
high. The faces of the Blessed Mother and of the Holy 
Child are so perfectly carved and so wholly admirable that 
they prompt souls to devotion. The dark complexion of 
the Virgin, her bright eyes which follow the spectator wherever 
he goes, her smiling face, the open arms of the Child that seem 
to invite confidence, make upon the pilgrims a sweet and 
lasting impression. Mary is clothed in a white robe with a gold 
trimmed mantle in the form of an ecclesiastical cope which 
falls from her shoulders to her feet. Her neck is encircled 
by a ruff or broad double muslin collar finely plaited, of the 
kind which was almost universally worn in the Fifteenth 
Century by persons of distinction. In her left arm she is 
holding the Infant Jesus, while in her right hand is seen the 
sign of our Redemption. The Child Jesus is Himself holding 
in one of His hands a small globe surmounted by a tiny cross. 
The Virgin is standing on a cloud supported by three beau- 
tiful cherubs. At her feet shines the silver crescent of the 
moon with its horns directed downward. A bright sun 
darts forth its rays around her shoulders and wraps the Virgin 
in glory; over the sun twelve stars arranged in the form of a 
halo and inlaid with the monogram of Mary sparkle arotmd 
the crowned head of the Blessed Virgin. Such an elaborate 
and symbolical setting is the happy realization of this text 
of the Holy Scripture, which, by allusion, is often applied to 
ovir Blessed Lady: **And a great sign appeared in heaven. 
A woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, 
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.*' (Apocalypse 

55 



xii, 1). To that gentle Queen, radiant with grace, who smiles 
to us from her glorious throne, we also may apply these words 
of the Canticle of Canticles: 

Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtle-dove's, thy neck as jewels (1.9). 

We will make thee chains of gold inlaid with silver (1. 10). 

Behold thou art fair, O my love, behold thou art fair, thy eyes are as those of doves 
(1.14). 

How beautiful art thou, my love, how beautiful art thou! Thy hair is as flocks of 
goats which come up from Mount Galaad (IV. 1). 

Thy teeth as flocks of sheep that are shorn, which come up from the washing (IV. 2). 

Thy lips are as a scarlet lace, and thy speech sweet. Thy cheeks are as a piece of 
a pomegranate (IV. 3). 

Thou art fair, O my love, and there is no spot in thee (IV. 7). 

Thy lips, my spouse, are as dropping honeycomb, honey and milk are under 

thy tongue, and the smell of thy garments as the smell of frankincense (IV. 11). 

O thou most beautiful among women (V.9). 

Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the 
sun, terrible as an army set in array? (VI. 9). 

The Catholic Church has always paid the greatest respect 
and honor to the Blessed Mother of God on account of her 
matchless dignity. Of course we do not adore her. The 
little Catholic child learns in his catechism that to pay to any 
creatiure this supreme honor which is due to God alone is to 
commit an act of idolatry. God alone can claim the supreme 
worship of adoration, but because Mary is the Mother of 
God she has a right to a worship beyond any that we pay 
to the saints and angels From the earliest ages of the Chiu^ch 
up to the present time the name of Mary has always been 
held among Christians as the greatest after that of the 
Saviour of mankind. What a number of splendid sanc- 
tuaries the piety of peoples has dedicated to Oiu* Lady all 
over the world! How many masterpieces have the arts 
achieved in her honor ! In every Catholic Church there is an 
altar which is hers by right. Everywhere her beautiful 
name is borne and her gracious image is to be seen. 

The great conquerors of the New World used to consider 
themselves as the Knights-errant of Oiu* Lady. Colimibus, 
before setting forth on his immortal voyage, had his ship 
blessed and named the "Santa Maria" (Holy Mary). With 
a banner of the Blessed Virgin borne before him the hardy 

56 



Cortes conquered the vast pagan empire of Mexico. The 
chivalrous Champlain carried the name of Mary through 
the gigantic forest of Canada. The gallant De Maison- 
neuve founded Ville-Marie (Town of Mary) now Montreal. 
On discovering the Mississippi Father Marquette called it the 
Immaculate Conception. It was on the feast of the Annun- 
ciation that the Catholic Pilgrim Fathers took formal posses- 
sion of Maryland and the first town in that State was named 
St. Mary's. In May, 1846, the bishops of this Republic 
assembled in Baltimore, solemnly decreed that ''the Most 
Blessed Virgin conceived without sin is chosen as the Pat- 
roness of the United States." In short, the vSweet name of the 
Holy Mother of God is borne today by countless people, 
communities, churches and cities from the majestic St. 
Lawrence to the distant Magellan Straits. 

Indeed Mary is a Mother as well as a Queen and she is 
full of mercy and goodness. This has been proclaimed by 
all the peoples of the world who have given her the sweetest 
and most glorious titles. There is Our Lady of Mercy, for 
all who weep ; Our Lady of Perpetual Succor, for all who 
invoke her; Our Lady of Ransom, for captives; Our Lady of 
Good Counsel, for those in need of guidance ; Our Lady Help 
of Christians, for all who need her help, etc. 

According to Pope Leo XIII, in one of his immortal 
Encyclicals, Mary has been "invested with an almost im- 
meastirable power." That is why the Chtirch bids us hope 
in her prayers every moment of our lives and at the terrible 
hour of death. "Holy Mary, Mother of God" she makes us 
incessantly say, "pray for us now and at the hour of death." 
"Gate of Heaven, Star of the Sea, Health of the Sick, Con- 
solation of the Afflicted, Refuge of Sinners, pray for us." 

Indeed the Blessed Virgin has always been looked upon as 
the "Mother of Hope" and these words which the Divine 
Wisdom speaks of its own self suit her perfectly well: " I am 
the Mother of Fair Love . . . and of Holy Hope" 
(Ecclesiasticus xxiv : 24) . 

57 



It is under this double name of "Mother of Charity" and 
*^ Mother of Hope" ("Our Lady of Caridad" and "Our 
Lady of Esperanza") — the latter being the official title of 
this Church — ^that the Blessed Virgin Mary is here invoked. 

On each side of her marble niche these two beautiful 
appellations shine forth in bright letters on a gold back- 
ground of mosaic panels. On each panel is represented a 
cross between lilies, these being the symbols of charity and 
ptirity and an anchor, symbol of hope. Moreover the panel 
on the left is adorned with the above-mentioned verse of the 
Ecclesiasticus : Ego mater pulchrce dilectionis (I am the 
Mother of fair love), and the one on the right with the final 
words of the same verse: Ego mater sanctce spei (I am the 
Mother of holy hope). 

In its niche of Siena marble the statue produces a de- 
cidedly startling effect, and when the electric lamps throw 
their multitudinous rays upon the shining robes of the Virgin 
it looks like a heavenly apparition. 

From every comer of the city — I should rather say of the 
States — ^visitors and pilgrims repair to Oiu* Lady of Esperanza 
to lay down at her feet their gratitude and prayers, their joys 
and anguish. Considering the many graces and favors already 
obtained through her powerful intercession, St. Bernard's 
inspiring words suit her very well: "Who can remember 
having invoked thee in his needs and having been abandoned 
by thee . . . Never hath it been told of any of those 
who have had recourse to thy protection, implored thy help 
and begged for thy prayers that they have been forsaken." 



S8 



CHAPTER III 



THE SANCTUARY LAMP 




Gift of King Alfonso of Spain — A replica of a celebrated work — Symbolism of this mas- 
terpiece — Memorial inscription. 

[HE lamp which hangs from the dome of the 
sanctuary in front of the altar is the gift of King 
Alfonso XIII of Spain. To the Spanish Am- 
bassador in Washington, the Marquis de Villa- 
lobar, Miss de Barril diplomatically suggested 
that the King undoubtedly would wish to do something for 
the Spanish Church of New York. This suggestion was 
forwarded to Madrid, with the result that the King's private 
secretary wrote to Miss de Barril, signifying to her his 
Majesty's earnest desire to make to the Spanish Church in 
New York a gift which would contain in itself a significance 
genuinely Spanish and likewise be a work of art. On the 
24th of August, 1911, the King's secretary wrote: ''My 
August Sovereign has finally decided upon the work of a 
celebrated artist of the latter part of the Eighteenth Century : a 
lamp which hangs from the dome of San Antonio de la Florida. 
This church is one of our most precious art jewels, its dome 
having been wonderfully painted by .Goya. The lamp in 
question, besides being a valuable work of art, is in itself a 
symbol, for it is finished by a graceful royal crown, and the 
body of the lamp proper is suspended by chains which are a 
reproduction from the Collar of the Golden Fleece. SoroUa 
and other notable artists agree that the choice of His Majesty 
in selecting this lamp as a model for the one he is offering to 
Our Lady of Esperanza could not be more fitting. The 
King endeavored to find an artist skillful enough to reproduce 
exactly and faithfully the aforesaid model. Finally my 
August Sovereign gave the order to a priest, Sefior Don 

59 



Felix Granda, the noted goldsmith, who was recently awarded 
the gold medal at the latest exhibition of Craftsmanship and 
Decorative Arts at Madrid. Artists who have seen the lamp 
are confident it will please both Mr. Huntington and the 
Spanish American Colony of New York." 

So the sanctuary lamp of Our Lady of Esperanza was 
designed by Felix Granda, a priest-sculptor, and is an exact 
replica of the beautiful bronze lamp made by the celebrated 
Urquiza at the end of the Eighteenth Century and which hangs 
in the sanctuary of the church of San Antonio de la Florida 
in Madrid, where the famous Goya frescoes and many other 
works of art are carefully treasured. Senor Granda's re- 
production of the lamp has been examined by experts, who 
are unanimous in pronouncing it a masterpiece. The Bishop 
of Madrid took particular interest in the work and afforded 
Sefior Granda every possible facility in its execution. While 
the latter was busily engaged in making it, the King and 
Queen of Spain, the Queen Mother, the American Minister 
to Madrid, Mr. Henry C. Ide and his daughter, the American 
Consul, Mr. Hoover and Mrs. Hoover visited the artistes 
studio, and all greatly admired the royal gift. 

One of the most striking features in this masterpiece is 
the symbolism it contains. The vertex of the lamp represents 
the Royal Crown of Spain from which are hanging three 
ornamented chains reproducing the Collar of the Spanish 
Order of the Golden Fleece. 

Three golden-winged cherubs, hovering together in a 
graceful flight, are upholding with their arms and shoulders 
a round tray adorned with a finely chiseled railing reproducing 
the arms of Spain: the lion, and the castle supported by the 
Pillars of Hercules. This simple motif, which has been 
favored by Spanish artists of all ages, produces a beautiful 
effect. 

From the center of the tray a hexagonal pedestal rises up. 
The coat of arms of the present King of Spain, made of glitter- 
ing enamels, is emblazoned upon one of its sides; upon an- 

60 




THE SANCTUARY LAMP 



other side a Spanish dedication bearing the date of January 23, 
1912, was engraven by order of the King. It reads as follows: 
Su Majestad el Rey de Espana D. Alfonso XIII ^ Q. D. G. ha 
ofrecido esta lampara a la Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la 
Esperanza de Nueva York, el 23 de enero de mdccccxii (His 
Majesty the King of Spain Don Alfonso XIII, whom the 
Lord preserve, presented this lamp to the Church of Our 
Lady of Esperanza of New York, January 23, mdccccxii). 

The hexagonal pedestal in the center of the tray supports 
a golden sphere — the earth — upon which is traced a map of 
the world, and the following inscription taken from Holy 
Scripture can be read: Lux orta est jus to et rectis corde Icetitia. 
Quamdiu sum in mundo lux sum mundi (Light is risen to 
the just, and joy to the right of heart (Psalm xcvi: 11). 
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world 
(John ix: 5). From the axes of the sphere flames burst forth 
forming a crater which is the socket that hoMs the vessel 
containing the vigil taper that btirns day and night before 
the Blessed Sacrament. 



6i 




CHAPTER IV 

THE SANCTUARY STAINED GLASS WINDOWS 

The Angels "who stand before the Lord" — St. Michael "the highest general" — St 
Raphael, "the healer" — St. Gabriel, "power of God" — Uriel, "one of the seven.' 

I HE four little windows looking into the sanctuary 
around the altar are glazed with fotir of the seven 
Spirits, who, according to Holy Scripture, contin- 
ually tend before the throne of Almighty God; 
they are from left to right,the Archangels Michael, 
Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel. These windows were donated by 
Mr. Miguel R. Martinez, in memory of the deceased members 
of his family. For those adoring Spirits there could be no 
place more fitting than the sanctuary around the altar, this 
earthly abode of Our Blessed Lord, for we do believe that He 
is really there in the tabernacle as really as He was at Beth- 
lehem and Nazareth, going on with His life of self abasement 
and himiiliation. Is it not right, therefore, that we should 
call upon Him and acknowledge His Divine Presence in union 
with these four glorious Archangels who stand out on their 
glowing place of honor, in a reverent position of adoration, in 
union, too, with the myriads of unseen spirits who ceaselessly 
praise and serve the Divine Prisoner of Love? 

St. Michael 

The Archangel Michael is easily recognizable by his banner 
inscribed with the words ' ' Quis ut Deus? ' ' These three words 
are the translation in Latin of '' Michael," and mean ''Who is 
like God," for Michael's name was the war cry of the good 
angels in the battle fought in heaven against Satan and his 
followers: "And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael 
and his angels fought with the dragon" (Apocalypse xii:7). 
No wonder then that the Greek liturgy styles him "highest 

62 







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general/' Christian tradition gives to St. Michael four offices : 
(1) To fight against Satan; (2) to rescue the souls of the faith- 
ful from the power of the devil, especially at the terrible hour 
of death; (3) to be the champion of God's people; (4) to 
bring men's souls to judgment. 

From the earliest times of Christianity the name of the 
great Archangel has been invoked with great efficacy. His 
feast is celebrated on the 29th of September. 

St. Raphael 

The next window portrays the Archangel Raphael, whose 
name means ''God has healed." We read in the Book of 
Tobias that he appeared, disguised in human form, as the 
travelling companion of the younger Tobias. The protecting 
influence of the angel during the adventurous journey is 
shown in many ways. After the return and healing of the 
blindness of the elder Tobias, he makes himself known as 
''the angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the 
Lord" (Tob. xii:15). 

What are the functions attributed to the Archangel 
Raphael? We have his declaration to Tobias (Tob. xii), that 
when the latter was occupied in his works of mercy and 
charity he (Raphael) offered his prayer to God, and that he 
was sent by the Lord to heal him of his blindness and to 
deliver Sara, his son's wife from the devil. The Church 
assigns the feast of St. Raphael to October 24. 

This window represents the Archangel kneeling before the 
throne of the Almighty while his both hands are holding the 
well known insignia of the pilgrims — the staff and gourd. 

St. Gabriel 

Gabriel, "power of God," is one of the four Archangels 
mentioned in the Bible. Only four appearances of Gabriel are 
recorded: In Daniel (Chap, viii) when he explains the 

63 



destruction of the Persian Empire and (Chap, ix) when he 
communicated to the above-mentioned prophet the mysterious 
prophecy of "the seven weeks" of years which should elapse 
before the coming of Christ. In the New Testament he fore- 
tells to Zachary the birth of the Precursor and to the Blessed 
Virgin Mary that of the Saviour. So he is throughout the 
Angel of the Incarnation and the Angel of Mercy. 

Christian tradition supposes that it is Gabriel who ap- 
peared to St. Joseph and to the Shepherds, and that it was 
he who "strengthened" our Blessed Lord in the Garden of 
Gethsemane. 

In St. Luke the Archangel says of himself: " I am Gabriel 
who stand before God." The artist had these words in mind 
when he portrayed the great Archangel kneeling before the 
tabernacle in a silent adoration. At his left can be seen a 
shield emblazoned with the monogram of the Blessed Virgin 
Mary, i.e. the interwoven letters A and M, which mean 
"Ave Maria" or "Hail Mary." These words were the first 
ones spoken by Gabriel when he announced to Mary she would 
become the Mother of God. His right hand is wielding a 
sceptre topped by a fleur-de-lis to symbolize the royalty and 
purity of God's Mother. The Church assigns his feast to 
March 18th. 

Uriel 

The fourth and last sanctuary window pictures the Arch- 
angel Uriel. Of the seven angels whom St. John the Divine 
saw "standing in the presence of God" (Apoc. viii: 2) only 
three, Michael, Raphael and Gabriel are mentioned in the 
canonical Scriptures. The four others, according to the Book 
of Enoch, are Uriel, Raguel, Sariel and Jerahmeel. It is 
Uriel, the first of the series whom the artist has portrayed for 
the small gallery of heavenly spirits who, around the altar, 
incessantly minister to the Most High and "cease not daily to 
cry out, with one voice, saying: 

64 



''Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts, 
The Heavens and the earth are fiill of Thy glory; 

Hosanna in the highest, 
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; 

Hosanna in the highest/' ^ 

The Archangel Uriel is seen with an uplifted sword in his 
right hand and a burning heart in his left, to symbolize his 
courage, zeal and love for God. 

^Conclusion of the Preface or introduction to the Canon which is the most solemn 
part of the Mass. 



6s 




CHAPTER V 

THE ALTAR RAIL AND BRONZE GATE 

The holy table or communion rail — The gate and the monograms of Christ — Brass 
candlesticks. 

'HE railing which guards the sanctuary and sepa- 
rates the latter from the nave is also called the 
communion rail. It deserves a special mention. 
As has been already said, it was donated, together 
with the high altar, by Mr. and Mrs. Frederic 
Courtland Penfield. The communion rail effectively joins 
the side altars and the main altar into a delightful and har- 
monious unit. It consists of a rail whose cyma recta is beauti- 
fied by a leaf design, and the oval by an egg and dart. Bronze 
doors divide the rail into two parts, pedestals at the end of 
each maintaining the unity. These pedestals are decorated 
by raised panels, surrounded by a raised molding. Between 
the pedestals, or piers, are six balusters, while another half 
engaged baluster projects from the inner surface of the pedes- 
tals. The balusters are symmetrically divided in halves by a 
bead molding, and a beautiful leaf design is in relief on 
each half. The piers and balusters rest on a base with a cyma 
reversa ornamented with leaf and tongue. 

The communion rail is made of the same beautiful Siena 
marble as the high altar, of which it is the necessary comple- 
ment. Why? Because the Holy Sacrifice is first offered on 
the altar and then distributed to the faithful on this table, 
so that, in the mystical words of the Church, to approach the 
holy table is tantamount to receiving our Blessed Lord. It 
is fitting, therefore, that the communion rail, owing to its 
high object, should be in keeping with the altar itself. 

The communion rail is provided with a bronze gate leading 
into the sanctuary. Each gate is adorned with the mono- 

66 



I 



gram of Christ, within an oak crown, forming a center 
medalUon. The medalUon itself stands against an eight- 
pointed cross bordered by the square frame of the gate. 
The letters IHS are the first three characters of the Greek for 
Jesus. From the Third Century the names of Our Lord were 
still more shortened, particularly in Christian inscriptions. 
IH was then used for Jesus and XP for Christus. In the next 
century the sign XP for Christus occurs not only as an abbre- 
viation but also as a symbol. The monogram became popular 
after the Twelfth Century, when St. Bernardine of Siena was 
spreading the devotion to the Holy Name. Towards the 
close of the Middle Ages IHS became a symbol, quite like XP 
in the Constantinian period. Sometimes above the H appears 
a cross and underneath three nails, while the whole figure is 
surrounded by rays. IHS is sometimes wrongly understood 
as an abbreviation of Jesus Hominum SalvatoVy (Jesus Savior of 
Men), or of In Hoc Signo (vinces), (in this sign thou shalt 
conquer), etc. 

Brass Candlesticks 

Let us not leave the sanctuary without mentioning the 
two ornate, heavy brass candlesticks that adorn the steps of 
the high altar. A close scrutiny of their bases will reveal four 
beautiful heads of rams standing out from festoons of verdant 
foliage. They are, indeed, a fitting adornment for the place 
they have in their unique setting. These brass candlesticks 
are a gift of Mrs. Benjamin Thaw. 




67 



1 



PART III 

THE NAVES 




CHAPTER I 

THE SIDE ALTARS 

St. Joseph's altar — St. Joseph's painting by Sorolla — Cultus of St. Joseph — St. Theresa's 
altar. 

|HE two side altars are, so to speak, an archi- 
tectural and pictorial complement of the high 
altar. Both also are of Siena marble and were 
carved by the same Italian artists whose crafts- 
manship recalls the days of Benvenuto Cellini, so 
scholarly the care, so finished the art with which all the 
details are worked out. 

They are alike in form and in most of the details. A design 
of pilasters, entablatures and panels, framing two beautiful oil 
paintings, form the back of each altar. The panel of the right 
altar frames a picture of St. Joseph and the Holy Child, that 
on the left a picture of St. Theresa. The main entablature has 
a plain cornice and frieze, the dentils being the ornament 
to relieve the simplicity of the design. Each pilaster has five 
flutes and a Renaissance cap, consisting of two scrolls and 
an acanthus leaf setting. Between the scrolls of the caps of 
the pilasters are escutcheons, whose bearings recall the 
Military Orders of Spain, when that nation was crusading 
against the Moors and when pilgrims from every part of the 
world were repairing to her two celebrated sanctuaries: 
Oiu" Lady del Pilar, in Saragossa, and St. James of Com- 
postella. At the center of the abacus of the cap, and above 
the escutcheon, is a rosette. The base of the pilaster con- 
sists of an astragal cove and torus on a plinth. The base 
rests on a cornice molding, which is supported by pedestals. 
This cornice is on the same level as the altar table. The 
table itself is supported by two consoles, each being orna- 
mented at the top by a leaf design, while a bead molding runs 

71 



vertically through the center. The consoles projecting from 
the face of the altar, rest on a wide base, which is returned 
from the base of the altar. The frontal between the consoles 
is panelled, above being a cornice frieze and architrave. 
The holy picture rests in a frame consisting of two piers with 
imposts from which springs an arch with a keystone of the 
same design as the consoles of the altar table. The surface 
on either side is relieved by panels, which follow the lines of 
the picture opening, the side panels being extended across the 
bottom, and below is the shelf, upon which the picture rests. 

St. Joseph's Altar 

St. Joseph's altar in the right aisle is exclusively the dona- 
tion of Mrs. Frederic Courtland Penfield, and was given by 
her in memory of the Rev. Mother Randall, who was Superior 
of the Sacred Heart Convent in Philadelphia and New York, 
and who died in Albany some years ago. 

A close scrutiny of the caps of the left pilaster will reveal 
between the scrolls a shield, the escutcheon of which is adorned 
with three shells or "pilgrim scallops"; two in the chief of the 
field, the third one in the navel. In the Middle Ages, when 
pilgrims flocked to St. James of Compostella, they used to 
bring back with them from Galicia scallop shells, as proof of 
their journey, and that custom gradually extended to every 
form of pilgrimage and every kind of pilgrim. 

The cap of the right pilaster is also adorned with a shield, 
the bearing of which is a cross fletir-de-lis. Such a cross was 
the peculiar symbol of the Knights of Calatrava, a Military 
Order instituted in 1158, by Sancho III, to combat the Moors. 
The inscription carved in the frontal of the altar reads: 

Dedicado por Anne Weightman de Penfield, al honor y gloria 

DE DiOS Y ETERNO RECUERDO DE SU MUY AMADA AMIGA LA MaDRE 

Sarah Randall, R. S. C. 

Translation: 

Dedicated by Anne Weightman Penfield to the honor and glory of God 

and to the perpetual memory of her beloved friend, the Reverend 

Mother Sarah Randall, R. S. H. 

72 




ST. JOSEPH AND THE HOLY CHILD 
Painted by Sorolla 



The reredos of this altar is adorned with a painting by 
Joaquin SoroUa y Bastida, which is the gift of this famous 
artist. It is a superb conception of St. Joseph, the Carpenter 
and Foster-Father of Our Lord, holding the Divine Child in 
his arms. "While this is distinctly an impressionistic work, 
it sounds a new note in religious painting. It is the first of 
this great Spanish artist's eccleciastical work to be seen in the 
United States. To the art lovers who are accustomed to look 
for sparkling water, golden sunshine, smiling women, laughing 
children and stately portraits of the nobility, it comes as a 
great and beautiful surprise and revelation. Who but Sorolla 
would ever have dreamed of placing in a Catholic church the 
realism of a carpenter half clothed and devoid of the halo? 
Yet there is a saintliness in the expression and ensemble of the 
old man and the wonderment of exquisite love in the face of 
the child which makes one joyous at the absence of the ordained 
conventional symbolism . " ^ 

This picture, which has been so often spoken of by art 
reviewers, is indeed utterly impressive. Great is the number 
of those who have come not only to admire it but to say their 
prayers before it. In spite of his calloused hands and poor 
apparel, the sweet-faced Carpenter of Nazareth appeals to 
Christians, while the radiant beauty of the Holy Child prompts 
their hearts to love and adoration. The more one looks at 
this striking portrayal, the more one likes it. It is both 
artistic and inspiring. 

**St. Joseph," says St. Bernard, ''was truly the faithful 
and prudent servant whom the Lord appointed master of His 
household. His foster-father, the comfort and support of His 
Mother, and His most faithful cooperator in the execution of 
His deepest coimsels on earth.'* 

"What happiness," continues the same great doctor, "not 
only to see Jesus Christ, but also to bear Him, to carry Him in 
his arms, to lead Him from place to place, to embrace and 

^Academy Notes , October, 1912. 

73 



caress Him, to feed Him and to be a witness of all the sublime 
secrets which were concealed from the princes of this world!** 

St. Theresa had a child-like confidence in the Foster-Father 
of Our Lord. '*I choose the glorious St. Joseph for my patron,'* 
she writes, ''and I commend myself in all things to his special 
intercession. I do not remember ever to have asked of God 
anything by him which I did not obtain. I never knew any 
one who, by invoking him, did not make great advances in 
virtue. He assists all who address themselves to him, in a 
manner truly wonderful.** 

St. Joseph is not only the Patron of the Universal Church; 
he is also specially invoked to obtain a happy death. Having 
himself received in his last moments the help of Jesus and 
Mary, he can procure for those who pray to him the same 
assistance and the grace of a holy death. 

To all who would holily live, 

To all who would happily die, 

St. Joseph is ready to give 

Sure guidance and help from on high. 

St. Theresa*s Altar 

The side altar in the left aisle is a gift of the late J. Pierpont 
Morgan, and Mr. Amos T. Eno. This altar is identical with 
St. Joseph's altar in ail its details but one. The capital of 
each pilaster is adorned with its peculiar escutcheon. The 
cap of the left pilaster bears a cross terminating in a sword, 
and a scallop shell is affixed to the hilt. This was the insignia 
of the Military Order of St. James of Compostella, or Knights 
of the Sword, founded in 1170 by Ferdinand II. The "sword** 
in the shape of a cross recalls their last title, and the "scallop ** 
their connection with the glorious shrine of St. James of Com- 
postella, which they were sworn to protect against the Moors. 

The cap of the right pilaster bears on its escutcheon the 
Cross of Holy Land, consisting of a cross potent with small 
crosses between the arms. This was the insignia of the 
celebrated Order of the Holy Sepulchre, supposedly instituted 
in 1099. 

74 



It is intended to replace the Madonna, which has been for 
many years above this altar, by a portrait of St. Theresa. 
The work was entrusted to a very distingiiished Spanish 
painter, Raimimdo de Madrazo, but a long and severe illness 
culminating in his death prevented him from keeping his 
promise. Madrazo having died in 1920, the painting of St. 
Theresa is now in the hands of another eminent artist. 



75 




CHAPTER II 

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS: LEFT AISLE 

Glaziers of mediaeval centuries — Stained glass windows of this Church among the best — 
"The Annunciation"— "The Visitation"— "The Nativity of Christ." 

|MONG the things that attract the attention of a 
visitor on entering the church are the glorious 
stained glass windows. 

The windows^ of Ottr Lady of Esperanza, 
according to art critics, rank among the best in 
New York. They, no doubt, give to the Spanish Church a 
touch of loveliness and beauty which add to the mysterious 
attractiveness of this "House of Gold." 

The mediaeval windows of Chartres, Amiens, Paris, 
Canterbury, York, Exeter Cathedrals, and, until their recent 
destruction by the German gunmen, those of Notre Dame de 
Rheims, have drawn numberless artists and pilgrims from 
every part of the world, for they are generally accepted as 
standards of excellence, and one accustomed to their glowing 
colors and highly finished designs cannot but be critical of 
the tawdry colorings and artless designs of some of our modern 
church windows. 

Who shall da,re speak of the ignorance and darkness of the 
Middle Ages with these magnificent old stained glasses before 
him? The glaziers of the mediaeval centuries were fully aware 
of the great part they were bearing in the uplifting of the 
Christian masses. They never believed that the pith and 
marrow of their art merely consisted in displaying lines and 
colors, but were to assist in the chief object of the Church — 
the worship of God. Before the days of printing, these 
wonderful artists selected stories from the Bible, the lives of 

iThe stained glass windows of Our Lady of Esperanza were designed by Mr. Caryl 
Coleman, and executed by Hardman Glass Company, Birmingham, England. 

76 



the Saints, visions of angels or from the Blessed Trinity, with 
appropriate inscriptions, so that every worshipper, even a 
child, might understand their meaning. 

There is always a calm dignity about these fine mediaeval 
glass windows. The material is so stately and so enduring 
that when used properly the most magnificent effects can be 
produced. Glass is one of the choice productions of master 
craftsmen ; not only has it wide range of color, but it has also 
infinite variety, giving sudden and brilliant surprises. Henry 
Adams described the Twelfth Century glass as distinctly 
*' refined, brilliant, jewel-like"; he praises the ptirity of its 
colors, "the limpidity of the blues, the depths of the red, the 
intensity of the green; the complicated harmonies, the sparkle 
and splendor of the light, the quick and certain strength of 
the mass." 

On passing over the threshold of Our Lady of Esperanza, 
the visitor cannot help being impressed by the same glow of 
brilliant colors that escape in great floods from its wonderful 
windows as the rays of the sun creep into the glorious edifice. 
No imperial robe, no Persian carpet, no diamond could excel 
the gorgeous loveliness of these bits of colored glass. They 
produce on the happy worshipper, as he feasts his eyes upon 
them, that very same feeling of mystery and devotion which 
the Christian artists of the Middle Ages aimed at, when they 
emblazoned upon glass the stories of the Bible or the lives of 
the Saints. 

"The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Hope at 
156th Street, near the Spanish Museum," writes an art critics 
"contains a series of lovely windows of the late Renaissance 
type, entirely unlike those already noticed, since they are not 
wrought in mosaic glass leaded together but depend largely on 
the use of paint fused to the glass. Their beauty lies in their 
rich deep coloring evenly balanced with lighter tones, the 
excellent adaptation of the figures, harmony with one another 

iHelen Marshall Pratt, the author of "The Cathedrals of England" and "West- 
minster Abbey," in the New York Times Magazine^ September 14, 1919. 

77 



and perfect adaptation to the delicate green and gold of the 
walls. Study of detail in these windows is much less gratifying 
than in the Gothic windows. The pictures represent scenes in 
the life of Christ and only an artist in figure painting could 
adequately represent such scenes. As you sit in the center 
aisle of this choice church — it is only twelve pews deep and 
there are only three windows in each side aisle and as many, 
but smaller, in the galleries above — the lovely rich colors — 
blue, red, green and gold with gleams of silver, all so exquis- 
itely balanced and seen through the fine arches of subdued 
tones, they form a marvellously interesting series, restful, full 
of feeling and inducing to worship." 

The scenes represented in the larger windows are all taken 
from the Gospel and they all refer to the life of the Blessed 
Virgin Mary, Patroness of this Church. 

Windows of the Left Side Aisle 
^^The Annunciation'' 

The first window on the left side aisle, as one enters the 
Church, is entitled "The Annunciation,*' and represents the 
Angel Gabriel announcing to the Blessed Virgin Mary the 
joyful tidings. We read in St. Luke, Chap, i: 

26. And in the sixth month the Angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of 
Galilee, called Nazareth, 

27. To a Virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, 
and the Virgin's name was Mary. 

28. And the Angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is 
with thee: blessed art thou among women. 

29. Who, having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what 
manner of salutation this should be, 

30. And the Angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with 
God. 

31. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son; and 
thou shalt call his name Jesus. 

32. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord 
God shall give unto him the throne of David, his father; and he shall reign in the house 
of Jacob forever. 

33. And of his Kingdom there shall be no end. 

34. And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not 
man? 

78 




THE ANNUNCIATION 



35. And the Angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, 
and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy 
which shall be bom of thee shall be called the son of God. 

36. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old 
age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: 

37. Because no word shall be impossible with God. 

38. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me accord- 
ing to thy word. And the Angel departed from her. 

Had the philosophers, wise men and great saints of all 
times been engaged for years in framing an answer to the 
wonderfiil announcement of the Angel, they would never have 
succeeded in composing anything so beautiful, wise and 
humble as the immortal words that proceeded from the lips 
of Mary: "Behold the Handmaid of the Lord, be it done to 
me according to thy word." On hearing these precious words 
the Angel disappeared and Jesus Christ became man in the 
womb of the Immaculate Mother. 

The window of ''The Annunciation" is among the best, 
if not the best, of the whole series. The Archangel Gabriel 
has a youthful figure. He wears a tunic of rich and deep green 
with golden fringe and a silver amice striped with gold. His 
marvellous wings of blue and green in peacock design shine 
forth in all their splendor. At his feet is a pot of lilies in full 
bloom and from his hand he unfurls a scroll inscribed: Ave 
Maria y Gratia Plena (Hail Mary, full of Grace). The 
awe, at the sublime honor that has been conferred upon her, 
is evident from the expression of startled surprise that lights 
up the beautiftd countenance of Our Lady as she kneels in 
prayerful attitude. Her head is covered with a sheer white 
veil, symbolic of virginity. In strong contrast to this a loose 
mantle of rich blue, bordered with gold, falls from her shoulders. 
In the upper edge of the window the Holy Ghost is seen descend- 
ing upon her and spreading rays of light upon the open Book of 
Holy Scripture lying on a table by her side and one can read 
in the Book these words of Isaias (vii : 14) which apply to Mary: 
Ecce Vir go concipiet etparietf ilium etvocahitur. . . . (Be- 
hold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and his name 
. . .). At the bottom of the window the following inscrip- 

79 



tion may be read : A la memoria de Manuela de Laverrerie de 
Barril: De su amante amigo Eugene Kelly (To the memory 
of Manuela de Laverrerie de Barril: From her beloved 
friend Eugene Kelly). 

''The Visitation'' 

The next window on the left wall recalls the Visitation of 
the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin St. Elizabeth as recorded 
in the first chapter of St. Luke (Chap, i: 39): 

39. And Mary, rising up in these days, went into the hill country with haste into 
a city of Juda. 

40. And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth. 

41. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the 
infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. 

42. And she cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed art thou among women 
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 

43. And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 

44. For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the in- 
fant in my womb leaped for joy. 

45. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be ac- 
complished that were spoken to thee by the Lord. 

46. And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. 

47. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 

48. Because he hath regarded the hiunility of his handmaid; for behold from 
henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 

49. Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. 

50. And his mercy is from generation unto generation, to them that fear him. 

51. He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit 
of their heart. 

52. He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble. 

53. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty 
away. 

54. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy. 

55. As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever. 

56. And Mary abode with her about three months, and she returned to her own 
house. 

This sublime and inspired canticle, called the " Magnificat '* 
makes the Blessed Virgin Mary, says a writer, the first Catholic 
poet, as it is the first Christian poem. 

In the background of this second window we see the 
distant hills of Judea, above them the azure blue sky, dotted 
here and there with fleecy white clouds, and as though the 

8o 



artist wanted us to feel the peace and rest that prevailed there, 
doves are seen in various positions of flight. 

Our Blessed Mother in this stately scene is clad in a robe 
of royal blue, with a cloak of mauve all but enveloping her. 
With the light of heaven upon her face, she advances to meet 
St. Elizabeth and Zachary, who go forth from the portal of 
their home to welcome her. St. Elizabeth wears the royal 
garments of purple and scarlet, while Zachary is arrayed in 
the costvmie of high priest. Reverence, awe and surprise are 
written upon the features of St. Elizabeth; in fact, if she 
could speak we could imagine her uttering the words of her 
beautiful salutation: "Blessed art thou among women and 
blessed is the fruit of thy womb." 

This window bears the following memorial inscription: 
En recuerdo de Felipe Barreda y Carmen de Osma de Barreda 
and Carmen de Osma de Barreda (In memory of Felipe 
Barreda and Carmen de Osma de Barreda). 

" The Nativity of Our Blessed Lord.'' 

The third window on the left wall pictures the mystery 
of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. St. Luke again has 
carefully recorded the wonderful and mighty event (St. 
Luke ii) : 

1. And it came to pass that in those days there went out a decree from Caesar 
Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. 

2. This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus, the governor of Syria. 

3. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. 

4. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, 
to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; because he was of the house and family 
of David. 

5. To be enrolled with Mary, his espoused wife, who was with child. 

6. And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished, 
that she should be delivered. 

7. And she brought forth her first-born^ son and wrapped him up in swaddling 
clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 

8. And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night- 
watches over their flock. 

^"Her first-born" does not mean that she had afterward any other child; but it is 
a way of speech among the Hebrews to call them also the first-bom who are the only 
children. 

8i 



9. And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God 
shone round about them, and they feared with a great fear. 

10. And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings 
of great joy, that shall be to all the people; 

11. For: This day is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of 
David. 

12. And this shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the infant wrapped in swad- 
dling clothes and laid in a manger. 

13. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly* army, 
praising God, and saying: 

14. Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will. 

15. And it came to pass, after the angels departed from them into heaven, the 
shepherds said one to another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word 
that is come to pass, which the Lord hath shewed to us. 

16. And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant 
Ijring in the manger. 

17. And seeing, they understood of the word that had been spoken to them con- 
cerning this child. 

18. And all that heard, wondered; and at those things that were told them by the 
shepherds. 

19. But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. 

20. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, for all the things 
they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. 

Here again the artist has succeeded in carrying out even 
to the most minute detail the words of the Gospel relative 
to the subject portrayed. It seems nothing short of marvellous 
that so many items coiild be represented in a comparatively 
small piece of glass. ''It came upon a midnight clear,*' for 
the cold bleak darkness of midnight falls around the poor cave 
from without, bringing to us a keener realization of the lonely 
coming of the Redeemer of the World. In the center of a 
worshipping group lies the Infant Savior in a rude manger, 
holding up His wee hand in benediction upon those around 
Him. The Blessed Mother kneels at the foot of the makeshift 
crib, wrapped in prayer, her robes of blue falling in folds at her 
feet, her whole countenance beaming with "great joy.*' 

Two youthful figures of angels clad in filmy garments, 
their wings, gorgeous in color, spread out as though to shield 
the Divine Infant from the cold blasts of the night, are seen 
kneeling by the manger holding a protective covering over 
their little charge. Back of the central group stands St. Joseph, 
the spouse of the Most Blessed Virgin, the Foster-Father of 

82 



Our Lord, wearing the simple frock of the carpenter, leaning 
upon his staff as he gazes at the glory of the scene before him. 
Closer scrutiny of this picture will reveal the figure of a 
shepherd standing in the door of the cave, overawed by all 
he has seen. 

What lovely Infant can this be 
That in the little crib I see? 
So sweetly on the straw it lies — 
It must have come from Paradise. 

Who is that Lady kneeling by, 
And gazing on so tenderly? 
Oh, that is Mary ever blest — 
How full of joy her holy breast! 

What man is that who seems to smile, 
And look so blissful all the while? 
'Tis holy Joseph, good and true — 
The Infant makes him happy, too. 

A Spanish inscription which reads as follows: A la memo- 
ria de Maria Nellany y William Sheehan, tells us that this 
window was erected: ^^To the memory of Maria Nellany and 
William Sheehan.'' 



83 




CHAPTER III. 

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS: RIGHT AISLE 

"The Adoration of the Magi"— "The Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple"— "The 
Marriage Feast at Cana." 

'' The Adoration of the Magi,'" 

I HE first window on the right side aisle, near St. 
Joseph's alter, represents the adoration of the 
Wise Men or Magi^ It reminds us of the 
Epiphany of Our Lord, or His manifestation as 
God to the Gentiles. "The shepherds of Judea 
had led the way," writes a pious author, "it was for Kings 
and Sages to follow." These Magi were the first converts of 
the heathen nations to worship the true God. St. Matthew 
gives us a graphic and vivid description of this momentous 
event, in the second chapter of his Gospel: 

1. When Jesus, therefore, was born in Bethlehem of Juda, in the days of King 
Herod, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, 

2. Saying: Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star 
in the East, and are gone to adore him. 

3. And King Herod, hearing this, was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 

4. And assembling together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he 
inquired of them where Christ should be bom. 

5. But they said to him: In Bethlehem of Juda. For so it is written by the prophet. 

6. And thou Bethlehem the land of Juda art not the least among the princes of 
Juda: for out of thee shall come forth the captain that shall rule my people Israel. 

7. Then Herod, privately calling the wise men, learned diligently of them the time 
of the star which appeared to them; 

8. And sending them into Bethlehem, said: Go and diligently inquire after the 
child, and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I also may come and 
adore him. 

9. Who having heard the king, went their way; and behold the star which they 
had seen in the East, went before them, until it came and stood over where the child 
was. 

10. And seeing the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 

11. And entering iilto the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and 

^The Magi or Wise Men, according to tradition, were Kings, and three in number. 
Their country, it seems, was Persia, and their names, Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar. 

84 



falling down they adored him: and opening their treasures they offered him gifts: gold, 
frankincense and myrrh. 

12. And having received an answer in sleep that they should not return to Herod, 
they went back another way into their country. 

This window is rich in color and striking in its contrasts. 
Here again the artist has succeeded in portraying a vivid 
reahzation of earthly pomp and glory as displayed by the 
Kings from the East, in direct contrast with the simplicity 
of the little heavenly King. Not only in their costly robes 
of scarlet, dark brown, and olive green, do these Eastern 
rulers differ from the One they have come to adore, but in the 
expression of amazement that marks their features at behold- 
ing the Infant Savior. They kneel at His feet, humble sup- 
pliants, full of respect, and present Him with frankincense, 
myrrh and gold, symbolic of their faith, hope and charity. 
Jesus, clad in a little frock of scarlet, is sitting in His mother's 
lap. His little hands poised again in benediction. Mary's face 
is transformed with joy and she lovingly holds her little Son. 
Her grey veil falls loosely about her and all but obscures a pot 
of lilies at her feet, and yet these very folds are the playthings 
of a little lamb that is sporting about. St. Joseph's cloak is 
of sombre green and he stands, as usual, in the background. 

Looking up at the open sky, above the rude dwelling, one 
sees the guiding star shining. Large as it is, this ''was not a 
real star," says a writer, "but a meteor more brilliant than 
stars usually are, inasmuch as its lustre was not eclipsed by 
the brightness of daylight." "A new star appeared at the 
birth of Him whose death was to obscure the ancient sun" 
(St. Augustine). 

This window, according to the inscription it bears, was 
erected A la memoria de Jose Francisco de Navarro: De sus 
amantes hijos (To the memory of Joseph Francis de 
Navarro: From his loving sons). 

^'The Presentation in the Temple" 

The central window on the right wall pictures the Presenta- 
tion of the child Jesus in the Temple. 

8S 



Forty days after the Nativity of Oiir Lord, at Bethlehem, 
the Most Blessed Virgin retiirned to Jerusalem in order to 
fulfill the law of Moses, which prescribed the purification of 
mothers and the redemption of the first-born. Indeed, this 
law did not apply to Mary, for though she really was the 
mother of the Redeemer, she was still the purest of virgins. 
*'For the sake of example," writes Bossuet, "she willingly 
submitted to a law which was in no way binding on her, be- 
cause the secret of her virginal maternity was unknown." 

In the second chapter of his Gospel, St. Luke relates the 
beautiful scene : 

21. And after eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised, 
his name was called Jesus, which was called by the angel, before he was conceived in 
the womb. 

22. And after the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were 
accomplished, they carried him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord: 

23. As it is written in the law of the Lord: Every male opening the womb shall be 
called holy to the Lord. 

24. And to offer a sacrifice, according as it is written in the law of the Lord, a 
pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons: 

25. And behold there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was 
just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was in him. 

26. And he had received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see 
death, before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. 

27. And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when his parents brought 
in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, 

28. He also took him into his arms, and blessed God, and said: 

29. Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace; 

30. Because my eyes have seen thy salvation. 

31. Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: 

32. A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 

33. And his father and mother were wondering at those things, which were spoken 
concerning him. 

34. And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child 
is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for the sign which 
shall be contradicted^; 

35. And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that out of many hearts, thoughts 
may be revealed. 

36. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe 
of Aser; she was far advanced in years, and had lived with her husband seven years from 
her virginity. 

^Christ came for the salvation of all men, but here Simeon prophesies that "many" 
through their own wilful blindness and obstinacy would not believe in the Savior, nor 
receive his doctrine, which therefore would be "ruin" to them: but to others a "resur- 
rection" by their believing in Him and obeying His commandments. 

a6 




THE PRESENTATION 



37. And she was a widow until fourscore and four years: who departed not from 
the temple, by fastings and prayers serving night and day. 

38. Now she, at the same hour coming in, confessed to the Lord; and spoke of 
him to all that looked for the redemption of Israel. 

39. And after they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they 
returned unto Galilee, to their city Nazareth. 

In this window of the ''Presentation in the Temple'* we 
have a striking example of the simple, almost lowly, existence 
the Christ-Child had chosen for Himself. We see the in- 
terior of the Temple, with its rich colorings and ornate 
designs. Old Simeon, arrayed in costly robes, which, how- 
ever, fail to obsciire his bent and feeble form, is seen holding 
in his withered arms the tiny form of the Infant Savior, 
while he raises his tired eyes to heaven as though to say: 
"Now, my Lord, my wish has been fulfilled." Over his 
head a scroll bears the inscription: Lumen ad revelationem 
gentium (A light to the revelation of the Gentiles) . 

Our Blessed Mother kneels at the feet of Simeon, her 
hands clasped in prayer, her eyes riveted upon him, her 
whole countenance breathing emotion on hearing that a 
sword shall pierce her own heart. St. Joseph bends anxiously 
over the kneeling form of the Virgin, his purple robe blending 
in with her mantle of deep blue. Both seem to wonder at 
the mysterious words that were told them by Simeon. In 
the foreground we see, in a small basket, the offering of the 
poor: a pair of turtle doves. We read in the Leviticus 
(xii:8), that if a woman, after childbirth, "is not able to 
offer a lamb, she shall take two turtles, or two young pigeons, 
one for a holocaust and another for sin; and the priest shall 
pray for her and so she shall be cleansed." 

At the bottom of the window a memorial inscription 
thus reads : A la memoria de Theodore A . Havemeyer: De su 
hijo Henry 0. Havemeyer, Jr, (To the memory of Theodore 
A. Havemeyer: From his son Henry O. Havemeyer). 

''The Marriage Feast at Cana'^ 
The last stained glass window represents the wedding 
feast at Cana, when our Blessed Lord worked His first miracle, 

87 



at the request of His holy mother. Having arrived at the 
age of thirty years, Jesus came forth from His hidden Hfe, 
at Nazareth, and, repairing to the river Jordan, was baptized 
by Saint John, after which He went into the desert of Judea, 
where He remained for forty days and forty nights, fasting 
and praying. He then started His apostoHc preaching, 
called His first disciples, and went with them to Cana, of 
Galilee, which was situated near Nazareth. The occasion 
was a wedding of which the Gospel of St. John, (chap, ii), 
speaks in the following terms: 

1. And the third day, there was a marriage in Cana of GaUlee: and the mother of 
Jesus was there. 

2. And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage. 

3. And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine. 

4. And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to me and to thee? my hour is 
not yet come. 

5. His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye. 

6. Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of 
the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three measures apiece. 

7. Jesus saith to them: Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to 
the brim. 

8. And Jesus saith to them: Draw out now, and carry to the chief steward of the 
feast. And they carried it. 

9. And when the chief steward had tasted the water made wine, and knew not 
whence it came, but the waiters knew who had drawn the water; the chief steward call- 
eth the bridegroom, 

10. And saith to him: Every man at first setteth forth good wine, and when men 
have well drunk, then that which is worse. But thou hast kept the good wine until now. 

11. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee: and manifested his 
glory, and his disciples believed in him. 

The first miracle of Our Lord was therefore wrought at 
Mary's request. Think what an affectionate advocate we 
have in this gentle mother; she is ready to help us in all our 
needs, even before we ask her intercession. How rightly 
then the Church acts in invoking the Blessed Virgin. What 
will not her intercession avail when the intercession of the 
Saints avails so much. "The prayer of the just man availeth 
much.** And yet the prayers of the Saints are only prayers 
of the servants of God, while the prayer of Mary is the prayer 
of His own mother, the Queen of Heaven. 

The scene just described is beautifully represented in 

88 



this window. The walls and ceiling of the festive room are 
hung with suitable festoons. Around the table are seated, 
crowned with flowers, the bride and groom, with their 
friends, including two of the Apostles. One of the guests 
is seen holding forth an empty cup, while a look of disgust 
shrouds his features. This disclosure causes deep humiliation 
to the bridegroom, and, as he looks around at his guests, his 
attention is attracted by one of the Apostles, who gazes at 
him as though to say, ''trust in the Lord." 

In the foreground another scene is being enacted. We 
see our Blessed Mother, on her knees, before her Divine 
Son, while, with her right hand she points to the empty jug 
and we very well imagine her saying: "They have no wine." 
Jesus is standing, tall and majestic, in His seamless garment. 
His hand raised in blessing, while at His feet a servant is 
seen pouring water from one vessel into another, and that 
which comes from the first jar, water, is poured into the second, 
wine: the very transubstantiation itself being apparent in 
the presentation of this window. 

The whole scene is most vivid in coloring. The Lord's 
scarlet robe is softened somewhat by the rich blue garment of 
His holy mother. The various colored robes of the wedding 
guests shine by contrast with the white bridal robes of the 
bride and groom. The sombre grey cloaks of the Apostles, 
and the dull green tunic of the servant, all serve to bring 
out the beauty, and artistry of this masterpiece in glass. 

This window was dedicated: A la memoria de Edward 
Kelly: De su esposa (To the memory of Edward Kelly: 
From his wife) . 



89 



CHAPTER IV 



THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS 




Origin of this devotion — How it spread throughout the world — Our Lady of Esperanza's 
stations are masterpieces — A short description of each station. 

[TATIONS of the Cross, Way of the Cross, Via 
Dolorosa, Via Crucis, are so many names sig- 
nifying either the pictures or tableaux represent- 
ing certain scenes in the Passion of Our Lord, 
or the form of devotion connected with such 
representations ^ Taken in the former sense the Stations may 
be of stone, wood or metal, sculptured or carved, or they may 
be merely paintings or engravings. They are fourteen in 
number and are usually ranged at intervals around the walls 
of a church. 

The devotion of the Way of the Cross did not become 
general in the Catholic Church until the end of the Seven- 
teenth Century. Its object is to help the faithful to make in 
spirit, as it were, a miniature pilgrimage to the chief scenes 
of Christ's sufferings in and about Jerusalem. This is carried 
out by passing from one station to the other with certain 
prayers at each, and devout meditation on the various stages 
of Christ's passion in turn. The origin of this holy practice 
may be traced to the Holy Land where, from the earliest 
times of Christianity, pious pilgrims used to flock in order to 
venerate the holy places. Does not tradition assert that the 
Blessed Virgin used to visit daily the sacred spots which had 
witnessed the passion of her Divine Son and drunk His 
blood? A desire to reproduce these holy places, in order 
to satisfy the devotion of those who could not actually go to 
Jerusalem, manifested itself in Europe as early as the Fifth 
Century. These reproductions may perhaps be regarded 

iCf. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol XV, p. 569. 

9P 



as the germ from which the Stations of the Cross afterwards 
developed. 

The popularity of the Way of the Cross as a practice 
of devotion is chiefly due to the numerous indulgences attached 
to it. It was Innocent XI who, in 1686, first granted to the 
Franciscans the right to erect the Stations in all their churches, 
and declared that all the Indulgences that had ever been given 
for devoutly visiting the actual scenes of Christ's Passion 
could thenceforth be gained by Franciscans, and all others 
affiliated to their Order, if they made the Way of the Cross 
in their own churches in the accustomed manner. Later on 
these privileges were extended by Sovereign Pontiffs to all 
the faithful, and the faculties of erecting Stations granted 
to all the bishops either personally or by delegate. It may 
truly be asserted that there is no devotion more richly endowed 
with indulgences than the Way of the Cross. ^ 

The Stations in a church are like an open book, telling 
all who wish to know the appealing sufferings of our Blessed 
Redeemer; they speak to our eyes and our souls as well, 
they enliven our piety, move us to sympathy for Our Lord's 
sufferings, and finally prove to be one of the most efficacious 
means of obtaining the grace to regret and detest sin. Many 
are those who have been prompted to a purer life by the 
frequent and devout meditation on the Passion of Christ! 
Many have been cured of their pride, anger, avarice, self- 
indulgence, by religiously studying the htimility, meekness, 
poverty and self-denial of the Son of God. 

In making the Way of the Cross, Catholics genuflect 
before each station. This reverence, of course, is no more 

^To gain the indulgences it is not necessary to meditate upon the episode repre- 
sented in the Station at which a stop is made. It is enough to meditate in a general way 
upon the Passion. Nor is it necessary to recite an "Our Father," a "Hail Mary" or some 
other vocal prayer at each station, for a very short meditation suffices. 

Now an Indulgence is the remission, in whole or in part, of the temporal punish- 
ment due to those sins, the guilt of which has already been forgiven. As a father makes 
use of the earnings of one son, who is industrious and thrifty, to pay the debts incurred 
by another son, who is not, in like manner our Mother the Church offers the superabund- 
ant merits of Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin and the Saints to the divine Justice in sat- 
isfaction for the punishments which are still due to us. To be in state of grace is indis- 
pensable for gaining an indulgence. 

91 



paid to the picture than it is to the wall behind ; it is made to 
worship God while at the same time the following words 
are devoutly recited: "We adore Thee, O Christ, and praise 
Thee; Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed 
the world/' 

The Stations of the Cross in Our Lady of Esperanza 
are masterpieces of art. They were specially designed and 
painted for this church by Mr. Henry E. Dey. "Aside 
from decorative value,*' says a critic^ "the fourteen Stations 
of the Cross, grouped to make a continuous panorama, despite 
the broken wall space, have more than passing interest for 
the aspirant. 'They are by no means the highest form of 
pictorial art,' said Mr. Coleman, 'yet I maintain they are 
far superior to any painted Stations of the Cross in the 
churches of America'. Without money to employ the 
master painters he would have selected for the work, Mr. 
Coleman made the Stations of the Cross a subject of a com- 
petition, open to young men whom he knew were doing 
good things and were ambitious to 'arrive.' Five competed, 
with the understanding that Mr. Coleman should constitute 
the jtiry and that his decision should be final. When the 
award was made to Mr. Henry Dey, the competitors viewed 
the submitted work, and without knowing Mr. Coleman's 
decision, they unanimously accorded with it." 

Having been invited to supply the writer with some 
details concerning these Stations he so artistically painted, 
Mr. Henry Dey kindly answered this request with the follow- 
ing: "Before undertaking the work, I made a rapid survey 
of the Stations in the city churches, and found that they 
were for the most part copies of copies of copies, with the 
result that any real quality of expression had evaporated. 
Luckily, I had time to befuddle my head with further con- 
sideration of what had previously been done with the theme, 
but taking the story as I found it in the Gospels, I illus- 
trated it. I painted No. 4 first and was given the work on 

^In The Architectural Record, January, 1913. 

92 



the strength of that one, in competition with several others. 
The series was first painted in rather a Hght key of color, as 
I had been shown the church with white walls and muslin 
in the windows, and having been told there was plenty of 
light. When I went to see them after they had been placed 
in position they were practically invisible, the walls having 
been covered with warm gilt and stained glass windows 
being in place. I had to repaint them entirely with strong 
pure color to enable them to compete with their surroundings, 
(and by the way, as I had to do it in the winter and there 
was little heat, I worked in an overcoat). I used Tissot's 
work as a guide to costimies and other archeological data." 

Each of the fourteen Stations painted by Mr. Dey is a 
little masterpiece in oil, for unlike most similar works, each 
one pictures comprehensively all the actual details and sad 
realities of Christ's weary march, from the tribunal of Pilate 
to the Cross on Calvary. We see here not only one or two 
figures, but, through the medium of these graphic portrayals, 
we behold all the participants of the sacred tragedy, from the 
the arrogant Roman soldiers, and the jeering populace, to 
that silent figure of the Mother of Sorrows. 

The Stations are set in panels of two on the side walls, 
and in groups of three on the rear walls. Throughout the 
entire Way of the Cross the artist has used soft rich colorings 
against a dark gray background, and he has so arranged to 
always have the figure of Christ in the center of the picture, 
so that anyone who follows Christ on His sorrowful journey 
sees first in Him the principal actor of the great drama. 
Indeed, so graphic are these descriptions that one is carried 
away from his stirroundings, and can almost imagine himself 
actually present at each one of these heartrending scenes of 
Christ's Passion. 

I. Station 
Jesus is Condemned to Death hy Pilate 

Christ is seen in this, the first station, standing before 
Pilate to hear the sentence to be imposed upon Him. The 

93 



figure of our Blessed Redeemer is truly majestic. His attitude 
fearless and dauntless, and yet one may discern an expression 
of pity on His holy countenance as He faces the dastardly 
and unjust Pilate. 

"Away with Him!" the impious rabble cry: 
Yet Jesus, 'twas my sins that bade Thee die. 

II. Station 

Jesus Takes the Cross on His Wounded Shoulders 
Here we see our Redeemer, surrounded on all sides by 
the rabble, as He willingly receives the heavy cross that is 
laid upon His shoulders. Though His sacred head had been 
crowned with thorns. His body bruised and bleeding from 
the scotirging, yet o\ir gentle Saviour readily embraces His 
Cross, and then gazes with compassion at those who demand 
His death, as if to say: ''Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do." (St. Luke xxiii: 34). 

Bent 'neath the heavy cross, Our Lord begins 
His last sad journey — ^heavier pressed my sins. 

III. Station 

Jesus Falls the First Time Under the Cross. 

This portrayal is especially graphic. We see Our Lord, 
in His red garment of shame, falling on the cold gray stones 
that line His pathway. He is so weak that He can scarcely 
move. A cloud has overshadowed the earth, and through the 
dimness one may see the angry faces of the mob demanding that 
He be made to continue, and overwhelming Him with blows and 
kicks and stripes. An awful and heartrending scene, indeed. 

Cruel! They torture Him and scoff the more, 
When, faint and pale, He falls. My soul adore. 

IV. Station 

Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother 

This is the Station which the artist painted first, and on 
the merit of which the whole work was entrusted to him 
after it had been put up for competition. 

94 



Standing in the foreground, weighed down by His heavy 
burden, apart from His executioners, Jesus meets His afflicted 
mother. The blue of Mary's garments makes her Son's 
robe of ignominy all the more apparent. Oh! the ineffable 
anguish that pierces the heart of that dear mother as her eyes 
look into those of her Beloved Son! This meeting shows its 
strain on Him, yet He makes no sign, but prepares to march 
on with unabated courage, to Calvary. The lines of the 
two main figures, as well as the expression of the faces, are 
of the highest artistic grace and execution. 

Dreading the sight on which her soul is set, 

She waits, and — bitter joy! — their eyes have met. 

V. Station 

Simon of Cyrene is Made to Help Jesus Carry the Cross 

The Cross has slipped from the shoulders of Jesus and 
He leans heavily upon the shaft, while the Roman soldiers, 
together with the ctirious spectators, are constraining the 
Cyrenean to help Jesus carry His Cross. He does so most 
unwillingly, and, with tremulous hands, lifts the limb of the 
cross again on the bleeding shoulders of Our Lord, and the 
weary march continues. 

Eager would I the precious burden share 
Which Simon, loathing, soon is glad to bear. 

VI. Station 

Veronica Wipes the Face of Our Savior 

Jesus is seen passing along slowly and painfully, awaited 
by friend and foe, when Veronica, a fearless woman and beauti- 
ful vision, breaks away from the group of spectators, kneels 
down in front of Jesus, and bravely offers Him a towel with 
which to wipe His bloodstained and adorable face. Jesus 
ttims to the kneeling figtire, with an affectionate look, and, 
stretching forth His hands, takes the towel, much to the 
admiration of some lookers-on, and to the indignation of the 

95 



others. This group, by its reverent treatment of the solemn 
scene here depicted, shows clearly the work of an artist with 
enlightened mind and chaste imagination. 

Full of fond pity, full of faith e'en now, 
Veronica wipes tenderly the bleeding brow. 

VII. Station 

Jesus Falls the Second Time Under the Cross 

How painftil was this fall of Jesus upon the hard ground. 
The sweet Savior shows more exhaustion now than in His 
first fall, and the artist has made this fact clear on the can- 
vas, not only from the position of Christ but by the look of 
deep concern and anxiety on the part of those who desire 
His death on the cross. The fallen figure of Jesus is sur- 
roimded on all sides by groups of panting spectators, among 
whom the sorrowful countenance of Our Lady may be seen. 
She is trying, no doubt, to reach her bleeding Son, but she 
is held back roughly by the inhimian soldiers. They, too, 
glance alarmingly at Christ lest their victim die before they 
have reached the hill of Calvary. 

'Gainst the steep hill He totters on with pain, 
O God! that yell — He falls. He falls again! 

VIII. Station 

Jesus Consoles the Women of Jerusalem 

The rabble has somewhat dispersed now, and a group 
of women has come near to Jesus. All types are gathered 
here, to hear the Man of Sorrows. He turns and speaks to 
them. His sad eyes resting on His listeners, who drink in 
every word He utters. His strength is fast ebbing away, 
His tall majestic figure is now bent and feeble. The Roman 
soldiers approach to reprimand this break in their schedule 
and to tirge Jesus on, for the hill of Calvary is at hand. 

"Hush, mourning daughters of Jerusalem! 

Weep not for Me; your children — weep for them." 

96 



IX. Station 

Jesus Falls the Third Time Under the Cross 

The goal, Calvary, has been reached and Jesus lies 
stretched full-length upon the earth, weighed down by His 
sorrows and His heavy burden. This fall is an utter collapse. 
He is unable to go any further. He lies there crushed and torn, 
bruised and beaten. All His energy is spent, all His resis- 
tance is gone. The multitude has dwindled down now to a 
curious few, and it is interesting to watch the changed ex- 
pression on the faces of those who started out, scoffers, and 
who now show only sorrow and concern. Pitiable as Christ 
is, as He lies there, He makes no appeal to the hearts of the 
Roman soldiers who come to lift Him to His feet, and they 
do so none too gently. 

It is that night of woe in Caiphas' halls, 

The scourging, thorns, or cross — that thrice He falls. 

X. Station 

Jesus is Stripped of His Garments 

Perhaps the great appeal of this picture is the fact that, 
after having been stripped of His garments, Jesus stands 
in the foreground of the painting alone, His sacred body 
covered with bruises and wounds, and His Sacred Heart 
saturated with the pang of desolation. His garments have 
been snatched away by the inftuiated mob. His sweet 
face is one of unspeakable sadness and suffering. The effect 
of all He has been through is clearly shown by the careworn 
lines upon His features, as He looks lovingly toward the hills 
of Jerusalem which rise up in the distance. 

Jeers and foul jests doth He, the All Holy bear, 
While fiends from virgin limbs the garments tear. 

XL Station 
Jesus is Nailed to the Cross 

Jesus lies upon the cross that has been made ready for 
His coming, and, as He turns His sorrowful face up toward 

97 



heaven, a light shines forth, lighting up the earth with a 
vague, mysterious hue, and casting its rays upon the execu- 
tioners, who are seen kneeling down, nailing the helpless 
victim to the rood. Jesus writhes in agony when He feels the 
nails tear His veins, bones, nerves and flesh with vicious cruelty. 
Of a truth the Son of God may say, now: !'They pierced my 
hands and my feet; they have numbered all my bones!" 

The dim outlines of figures grouped about can be seen 
upon close scrutiny of this station. 

Lewd ruffians fling Him on His bed of death; 

The nails pierce deep. "Father forgive!" He saith. 

XII. Station 

Jesus Dies on the Cross 

This picture forms a striking contrast with the preceding. 
In the eleventh Station a flood of light encompasses the earth, 
but in this, the twelfth, we see the white and pathetic figure 
of Our Savior in the pangs of death, nailed to the cross and 
standing forth against a black sky and a darkened earth! 
The artist pictiu*es here the revolt of nature itself against 
the crime that has been perpetrated. It is an impressive 
sight. The trembling of the earth, the rending of the rocks, 
the flashing of lightning, and then the darkening of the sun, 
have struck terror into the hearts of those who thus nailed 
the Divine Victim to the cross, and have put them to flight. 
None remains, of course, but His sorrowing mother and Mary 
Magdalen. Who can describe the sorrow of the Blessed 
Mother when she stood under the cross and Jesus broke 
out into the doleful cry: "My God, my God, why hast thou 
forsaken me?" (St. Matthew xxvii: 46.) Gazing on the 
divine face of the dying Jesus we see Him praying for those 
who have thus crucified Him. We may very well repeat 
here the words of the Gospel: "Greater love than this no 
man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friend." (St. 
John XV : 13.) 

More love there is not, nor more agony; 
So Jesus dies. For me — He dies for me! 

98 



XIII. Station 

Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross and Laid in the 
Arms of His Afflicted Mother 

The thirteenth Station generally represents Mary, seated 
at the foot of the cross, holding the lifeless form of 
her Son in her arms, but we have here a different scene por- 
trayed. Jesus is being taken down from the cross. A 
Roman soldier has climbed over the shaft of the cross and 
loosened the nails that held the hands of Jesus; another 
soldier has freed His sacred feet, and the mutilated body 
of the Redeemer of the World is slowly lowered into the 
arms of those waiting to receive it. Mary shows the true 
motherly instinct, for though her heart is breaking, though 
her cup of sorrow seems full to overflowing, yet she puts 
aside all thoughts of self, and with loving hands she eagerly 
participates in the work of removing her Son from His cross. 
We see her supporting the head of Jesus, while those around 
her lift His sacred body to the ground. If Mary could 
speak, we may well imagine her saying: '' O all ye that pass by 
the way attend, and see if there be any sorrow like my 



sorrow." 



Nigh to the Cross she stood till all was done 
And now the Mother's arms have clasped her Son. 

XIV. Station 
Jesus is Laid in the Sepulchre 

All is over now! The price of our salvation has been 
paid, and in this, the last scene of the sorrowful journey, 
Jesus is being placed in the sepulchre according to the rites 
and customs of the Jews. His sacred body has been care- 
fully wrapped in sweet perfumes, and a faithful few have 
followed Him to His temporary resting place. As we gaze 
at those grouped around the holy sepulchre, we can almost 
hear the lamentations of the holy women, but, more than all, 
we are led to contemplate the utter desolation of Mary's 

99 



afflicted heart as she parts, for the last time, with her only 
Son. She then gives vent to her tears as she leans heavily 
upon the Beloved Disciple. The tomb then is closed and 
all withdraw — the final act of the greatest drama is over. 

Oh! hard Thy rock-hewn grave, more hard my heart! 
Yet here Thou lov'st to dwell. Come, Lord, and never part. 

Here, indeed, art becomes once more the handmaid of 
religion, for while these stations, with their neat plastic 
frames and striking figures, make a fitting ornament to this 
House of Gold, the faithful are led from the consideration 
of their artistic merit to the higher contemplation of Our 
Lord's sacred passion and death. "Our great object in 
painting," said an illustrious artist, ''is to make saints." 
Then, may these noble Stations help to attain such a high 
achievement. 

These beautiful Stations of the Cross were donated by 
Mr. Thomas F. Ryan. 



lOO 



CHAPTER V 



STATUE OF THE SACRED HEART 




Description of the statue — Origin of the devotion to the Sacred Heart — A great associa- 
tion: The Archconfraternity of Prayer and Penance — Approbation by the Hier- 
archy of New York. 

N the right side of St. Theresa's altar stands, on 
its marble pedestal, the beautiful statue of the 
Sacred Heart. Even the most indifferent ob- 
server of art cannot fail to be impressed by the 
graceful lines, true-to-life details and delightful 
symmetry of this marble figure, immaculately white. The 
carving is clear-cut and faultlessly perfect. This statue, 
and the one of St. Anthony of Padua on the opposite side, 
go well together and form a suitable addition to the refined 
equipment of the little church. It is a gift of Mrs. William 
Storrs Wells. 

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is funda- 
mentally devotion to Our Lord's love for us, and in this 
respect it has always been in favor with Christians. But the 
worship of the Heart of flesh of Our Lord, taken as a symbol of 
this love, began to take shape in the Eleventh and Twelfth 
Centuries, and reached its definite form in the Seventeenth. 
In 1673, at Paray-le-Monial (France), a himible nun of 
the Visitation, St. Margaret Mary, was in adoration before the 
Blessed Sacrament when a heavenly light shone from the 
altar and she saw the adorable Person of Our Lord. Our 
Savior's breast appeared to her in a glowing brightness, 
and she perceived His Sacred Heart as radiant as the sun, 
and she heard a voice saying: "Behold this heart which has 
loved men so much!" On seventy-two occasions Margaret 
Mary had similar visions, in which Our Blessed Lord revealed 
to her the treasures, sorrows, and designs of His Heart, 

lOI 



charging her with the mission of manifesting them to the 
world. 

In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, the worship 
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus advanced by leaps and bounds, 
and now it is spread all over the world. Numbers of religious 
orders, associations and sodalities were founded under the 
aegis of the Sacred Heart. Among them, I shall here mention 
the celebrated Archconfratemity of Prayer and Penance, whose 
American center was erected in this church eight years ago. 

Archconfraternity of Prayer and Penance in 
Honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 

I. Origin of the Association 

In 1877, the Sacred Heart manifested His desire to a 
saintly French lady that the Church of Expiation on the Hill 
of Montmartre, in Paris, shoiild become the center of a move- 
ment of united Prayer and Penance. After careful considera- 
tion, the highest ecclesiastical authorities complied with the 
desire of the Sacred Heart and instituted at Dijon an Associa- 
tion of Penance, which became, in 1881, a branch of the 
Archconfraternity recently inaugurated at Montmartre. 

In 1894, His Holiness, Pope Leo XIII, canonically estab- 
lished it as an independent and universal Archconfratemity 
and enriched it with precious indulgences. In 1914, Pope 
Pius X, magnanimously blessed and earnestly recommended 
this "most salutary Association" of which he himself became 
a member. In a special rescript to priests, the Vicar of Christ 
added: ''We wish all priests of the entire world to enlist in 
this Association." 

An American Center of the Archconfraternity of Prayer 
and Penance was canonically erected in the Church of Our 
Lady of Esperanza, 620 West 156th Street, New York City, 
on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1912, by His 
Eminence Cardinal Farley, and officially affiliated to Mont- 
martre. This Center is intrusted to the care of the Augustinian 
Fathers of the Assimiption. 

I02 



II. Object of the Association 

The object of the Association is: 

1. To make reparation for our own sins, the sins of the 
world, and for all the outrages committed against religion, 
against the rights of the Church and against the sacred person 
of the Vicar of Christ, by means of prayer and penance, 
offered in union with the sufferings of the Sacred Heart of 
Jesus. 

2. To obtain by the same means the triimiph of the 
Chiurch, the freedom of the Sovereign Pontiff and the salvation 
of society. 

3. To strive and pray for the defense and propagation 
of the Faith and the spread of the Kingdom of God among 
nations. 

To enter thoroughly into the spirit of this great Association 
one should bear in mind these words of Holy Writ: 

"We ought always to pray and not to faint.'' (Luke 
xviii: 1.) 

''Pray without ceasing.'' (I Thess. v: 17.) 

''Except you do penance you shall all likewise perish." 
(Luke xiii: 5.) 

"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and 
take up his cross, and follow Me." (Matth. xvi: 24.) 

III. Conditions of Admission 

The Sacred Heart requires all the members of the Arch- 
confraternity to offer Him a Day of Prayer and Penance, 
either once a week, once a fortnight or once a month , spent in 
imion with Him in a spirit of atonement. 

Rich and poor, old and young, strong and weak, laymen 
as well as priests and religious, and even the sick, can easily 
comply with this obligation. It is left to each member to 
select the prayers he wishes to say and the penances he desires 
to perform. The Sacred Heart asks only for such prayers 
and such penances as each individual in his own state of life, 

103 



and according to his own condition, age, health, time and 
strength finds it possible to do. It will be even sufficient for 
persons engaged in laborious occupations to offer their hard- 
ships in expiation. Moreover it should be noted that these 
practices are never binding under pain of sin, though a firm 
resolve to be faithftd to them is required. 

This being known, anyone wishing to enlist may apply 
directly by writing either to the American Center: General 
Secretaryship of the Archconfraternity of Prayer and Penance, 
Church of Our Lady of Esperanza, 620 West lS6th St., New 
York City, or to the second Secretaryship of the Association 
in the United States: Archconfraternity of Prayer and 
Penance, Asstmiption College, Worcester, Mass., or indirectly 
through the meditmi of a promoter who is in touch with the 
Center. 

For inscription in the official registers it is required : 

1. To give the full name and address of the candidate, 
stating whether a child, adiilt, priest or religious. 

2. To state the Expiation Day chosen. 

(a) For 1^/ degree members designate the day of the week. 

(b) For 2d degree members state on which day of the 
week, and in which weeks of the month the Expia- 
tion Day occurs. 

(c) For 3d degree members specify in which week of the 
month, as well as name the day chosen for Expiation, 
or fix a permanent date. 

3. To include when sending names a slight initiation fee 
to cover the expenses incident to the printing and mailing of 
certificates and for the development of the Work. 

4. Names of new Associates should reach the Secretary at 
least two or three days previous to the enrollment in the 
Archconfraternity, which takes place on the first Friday of 
every month. 

5. Upon receipt of names and fees the affiliation certifi- 
cates will be forwarded. 

Any ftirther information or explanatory literature con- 

104 



ceming the Archconfraternity may be obtained from the 
American Center, Church of Our Lady of Esperanza, 620 West 
156th St., New York City, or from Assumption College, 
Worcester, Massachusetts. 

IV. Advantages of the Association 

The advantages of the Association are: 

1. A share in the prayers recited every day in the Basilica 
of the Sacred Heart at Montmartre, in the Church of Our 
Lady of Esperanza, the American Center in the United 
States of America and the Canadian Center, Bergerville 
(Quebec), P. Q. 

2. A share in the Masses which are said at Montmartre 
every day for the members of the Association, as well as in 
those celebrated by the priest-members all over the world. 
A special service is also held at the General Center for the 
deceased members on the first Monday of every month. 

3. A participation in the united prayers and good works 
of many thousands of members, namely of the Religious 
Associates. 

4. An assured claim to the special protection of the 
Sacred Heart of Jesus, of whom the Associates become the 
Body Guard and Privileged Friends. 

5. The facility of gaining the rich and many indulgences, 
Plenary and Partial, granted to the Association by the Sover- 
eign Pontiffs. 

N. B. In 1894, the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, 
in virtue of the power specially given it by His Holiness Pope 
Leo XIII, graciously granted the following Plenary In- 
dulgences to all members: 

(a) On the day of enrollment, or on the Sunday following 
the same. 

(b) On the day which the Associates have chosen to 
devote to Prayer and Penance, or any other day 
that is suitable to them. Therefore, this indulgence 
may be gained once a months or once a fortnight^ or 



once a weeky according to the degree to which the 
members belong. 

(c) On the Feasts of St. Benedict Labre (April 16), 
S.S. Peter and Paul (June 29), St. Mary Magdalen 
(July 22) , and once on any day in the month of June, 
the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

(d) Finally, a Plenary Indulgence is granted in articulo 
mortis. 

All these indulgences are applicable to the Holy Souls in 
Purgatory, and they may be gained on the usual conditions, 
i.e, confession, communion and prayers for the intentions of 
the Sovereign Pontiff. 

In His rescript dated March 10, 1914, Pope Pius X, added 
the following favors: ''We grant all the Associates an In- 
dulgence of 300 days for every prayer and sacrifice they offer. 
Moreover, We grant priests the favor of a Privileged Altar 
weekly, and, with the consent of the Ordinary, the faculty of 
imparting the Apostolic Benediction, once a year." 

V. Let Us Join 

Listen to these consoling words of our Divine Master, 
quoted from the Documents of the Association: 

"I will bless all those who join this Association; I will 
bless, above all, those who propagate it." 

**I will bless their families and their undertakings." 

*'I promise to take care of all their spiritual and temporal 
interests, and to bestow on them all they need and all they 
desire, both for themselves and for those near and dear to 
them." 

The Archconfratemity of Prayer and Penance in Honor 
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus numbers millions of members 
throughout the world. The special registers of the American 
Center of the Association contain even now several hundred 
thousand names. Cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, 
religious and faithful, all over the United States have enrolled 
in the army of the Sacred Heart. 

io6 




MOST REV. PATRICK J. HAYES, D.D. 

Archbishop of New York 



Let us follow in their footsteps! Let us also join! 

Among the many approvals and commendations of the 
Archconfraternity of Prayer and Penance received from the 
American hierarchy, let us mention the two following: 

Cardinal's Residence, 
452 Madison Avenue, 

New York, March 5, 1913. 
Rev. and Dear Father: 

I most warmly approve of the work of the Archconfraternity of Prayer and Penance. 
Such a society, having for its object the promotion of the spirit of penance among the 
faithful, will work great good for the glory of God, the honor of the Sacred Heart, and 
the salvation of souls, especially in these days when the prevailing social influences are 
exactly the opposite. 

I sincerely hope your work will spread among the people. You are preaching the 
salutary lesson of penance as Saint John the Baptist did of old, and I earnestly pray your 
warning will be heeded: "Unless you do penance, you will all likewise perish." 

Praying for you every blessing and the highest success, I am, 

Faithfully yours in Christ, 

John Cardinal Farley, 

Archbishop of New York. 

Archbishop's House, 
452 Madison Avenue, 

New York, February 3, 1920. 
Reverend Dear Father: 

It affords me much consolation to add my diocesan word of approval to that of 
our late beloved and lamented Cardinal Archbishop Farley, who so warmly commended 
the Archconfraternity of Prayer and Penance. 

The purpose of the Archconfraternity is most commendable because the world is 
in the depths today for the want of a spirit of prayer and penance — prayer acknowledg- 
ing the Supreme Dominion of God over the universe, and penance, man's absolute 
dependance on God and utter unworthiness in His presence. 

Praying for the work aU blessing and success, I am, 

Sincerely yours in Christ, 

Patrick J. Hayes, 

Archbishop of New York. 



107 




CHAPTER VI 

STATUE OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA 

Description of the statue — Short account of St. Anthony's life — -Tuesday devotions in 
honor of St. Anthony of Padua. 

HE white marble statue of St. Anthony, on the 
left side of St. Joseph's Altar, is a worthy counter- 
part of the one of the Sacred Heart. St. 
Anthony of Padua, during his short life, had 
been frequently favored with heavenly mani- 
festations. On one occasion, when he was buried in prayer, 
Our Blessed Lord appeared to him in the form of a most 
beautiful child and manifested His love for this holy servant 
by the tenderest and most loving caresses. This sweet 
apparition has been perpetuated by religious artists, who 
usually portray St. Anthony holding the Infant Jesus in 
his arms. 

The Saint's statue in the Church of Our Lady of Esper- 
anza represents this same touching scene. The great 
miracle worker is seen standing on a plain pedestal of yellow 
marble. His sweet countenance beams with heavenly joy 
as he feasts his eyes on the Divine Infant Who is gently 
seated on the open book the Saint is holding in his left arm. 
In his right hand, which is slightly stretched out as if to 
betoken a sudden surprise, an immaculate lily, symbol of 
purity, rises from its stem. This flawless marble carved 
with taste and nicety, bears mute witness to the ability of 
the artist. 

St. Anthony of Padua was born at Lisbon, in 1195. 
His parents were noble, powerful and God-fearing people. 
At the age of fifteen, Anthony joined the Canons Regular 
of St. Augustine, at Lisbon. But two years later, to avoid 
being distracted by relatives and friends, who frequently 

io8 



called on him, he left for Coimbra, where he remained for 
eight years, occupying his time with prayer and study. In 
1220, having witnessed the solemn interment at Coimbra 
of the first Franciscan martyrs, who had suffered death in 
Morocco, he, too, was inflamed with the desire of martyrdom 
and resolved to become a Friar Minor, that he might preach 
the Gospel to the Infidels and suffer for Christ's sake. A 
short time after his entry into the Franciscan Order, Anthony 
sailed for Morocco, but stricken down by a severe illness, 
he rettuned to Portugal. His ship, however, was overtaken 
by a violent storm and driven upon the coast of Italy, where 
he remained for some time, till he had regained his health. 

St. Francis, informed of St. Anthony's profound erudition, 
directed him to teach theology to his Franciscan brethren, 
first in Bologna, then in Montpellier and Toulouse. But 
it was as a preacher that Anthony reaped his richest harvest. 
His fine voice, winning countenance, wonderful memory and 
profound learning, to which were added, from on high, the 
spirit of prophecy and an extraordinary gift of miracles, made 
him the most forceful preacher of his time. 

Among the many miracles St. Anthony wrought, in the 
conversion of sinners and heretics, let us mention the follow- 
ing one: A horse, which had been fasting for three days, 
refused the oats placed before him till he had knelt down and 
adored the Blessed Sacrament which the Saint held in his 
hands. 

Another of his great miracles is that of the poisoned food, 
offered him by some Italian heretics, which he rendered 
innoxious by the sign of the Cross. The third miracle worthy 
of mention is that of the famous sermon to the fishes on the 
bank of the river Brenta near Padua. ^'Fishes of the sea,'' 
he said, ^listen to me, since men refuse to hear me." At 
these words, fishes of every kind and size appeared on the 
surface of the water, and arranging themselves in rows, 
turned their heads toward the Saint. At this sight the 
crowds were deeply moved and, throwing themselves at the 

109 



feet of the Saint, begged to be instructed. The zeal of St. 
Anthony, and the great and many conversions he made, 
rendered him worthy of the title "Hammer of Heretics." 

I have already mentioned the celebrated apparition of 
the Infant Jesus to our Saint. It would be too long to 
recite all his wonderful deeds, his stupendous miracles and 
his successful fights against the three obstinate vices of luxury, 
avarice and tyranny. 

He died at Vercelli, after a short illness, at the age of 
thirty-six years, on June 13, 1231. Gregorius IX, firmly 
persuaded of his sanctity by the numerous miracles he had 
wrought, inscribed him within a year of his death in the 
calendar of Saints. His remains were transferred to Padua, 
in 1263. St. Anthony is acknowledged, even at the present 
day, as one of the greatest thaumaturgists of all times. He is 
especially invoked for the recovery of things lost. 

Every Tuesday special devotions are held in this Church 
in honor of St. Anthony of Padua, that day being more par- 
ticularly consecrated to him. God has-- already bestowed 
many favors of every kind through his powerful intercession. 
Souls weary with trials and oppressed with troubles repair 
daily to the great miracle worker. They deposit at his feet 
their petitions and requests to be remembered and prayed 
for at these Tuesday Devotions. 

Dearest Saint, in praise unending, 

Let me thank thee for thy care. 
At thy feet, thy love befriending, 

Dare I hope the Lord will spare? 
For the Christ-Child who once sought thee 

In thy loving arms Who lay 
So much of His heart has taught thee, 

That He cannot say thee nay. 
Ah, while earth is still my dwelling. 

Every day be thou my friend; 
Fill my soul with peace, foretelling 

Perfect bliss that hath no end. 

The Statue of St. Anthony of Padua is a gift of the late 
Countess 0*Leary. 



no 



CHAPTER VII 



THE CONSECRATION CROSSES 




The twelve consecration crosses — Their meaning — Consecration of the Church of Our 
Lady of Esperanza — ^Anniversary of the consecration — Memorial lamps and 
torcheres. 

N the inner walls of the Spanish Church, on a level 
with the stations, may be seen twelve little bronze 
crosses -attached to the walls. These crosses 
must never be removed, for documents failing, 
they woiild serve to prove that this church has 
been consecrated. Each year, on the feast of the Dedication, 
a bracket holding a candle is affixed under each cross, and 
the twelve candles are kept burning from morning till night. 
Both by consecration and by blessing a church is dedicated 
to divine worship, which forbids its use for common or profane 
purposes. Consecration is a rite reserved to a bishop, who, 
by the solemn anointing with holy chrism, and in the pre- 
scribed form, dedicates a building to the service of God, thereby 
raising it in perpetuum to a higher order, removing it from the 
malign influence of Satan, and rendering it a place in which 
the prayers of the faithful are more readily heard and favors 
are more graciously granted by God (Pontificale Romanum), 
The blessing of a Church is a less solemn rite, which may be 
performed by a priest delegated by the diocesan bishop. It 
consists in the sprinkling with holy water and the recital of 
prayers, thus making it a sacred place, though not necessarily 
in perpetuum. Consecration differs from mere blessing in 
this, that it imprints an indehble mark on the building, by 
reason of which it may never be transferred to common or 
profane uses. 

The essence of the consecration consists in the anointing 
of the twelve crosses on the inner walls, but the whole 

III 



ceremony itself is perfectly beautiful and highly expressive 
in its symbolism. 

As has already been said, the Church of Our Lady of 
Esperanza and its three altars were consecrated on Saturday, 
April 19, 1913, by the Right Rev. Thomas F. Cusack, the 
then auxiliary bishop of New York. 

The anniversary of the consecration of a church is kept 
solemnly as ''a double of the first class,*' with an octave each 
recurring year. But, in order to avoid the inconveniences 
likely to arise from its clashing with other solemnities, the 
bishop is empowered to appoint, in the act of consecration, 
another day for the anniversary, provided such day be not a 
double feast of the first or second class; in the Universal 
Church, a privileged Sunday, or a local feast of the first class, 
or a day in Advent or Lent. His Eminence Cardinal Farley 
therefore appointed the fifth day of November for the 
anniversary of the Consecration of Our Lady of Esperanza, 
and has granted an indulgence of two hundred days to be 
gained by those who visit the church on each anniversary. 

The twelve consecration crosses were the gift of Mr. Emilio 
de Gogorza and Mme. Emma Eames de Gogorza. 

Memorial Lamps and Torcheres 

The four bronze memorial lamps, which hang from the 
pillars of the nave, are absolutely original in design, as are the 
valuable and beautiful antique gilt torcheres, which stand on 
each side of the communion rail. These two candelabras are 
a gift of the Spanish Colony. 

The dim light that falls from these lamps at night makes 
the golden hues on the walls sparkle, adding a mysterious 
effect to the general tone of the temple. 



112 




THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD 



CHAPTER VIII 



THE CONFESSIONALS 




A necessary equipment of every Catholic church — Divine institution of the Sacrament 
of Penance — Greatness and necessity of that Sacrament. 

|N essential and necessary part of the equipment 
of every Catholic Church is the Confessional 
where Catholics confess their sins. The church 
teaches and practices confession because it was 
clearly established by Christ Himself. Yes, in- 
deed, Penance is a sacrament instituted by Our Lord in which 
forgiveness of sins committed after baptism is granted through 
the priest's absolution to those who, with true sorrow, confess 
their sins and promise to atone for the same. The confession 
is not made in the secrecy of the penitent's heart, or to a lay 
man as a friend, but to a duly ordained priest with requisite 
jurisdiction and with ''the power of the keys," that is, the 
power to forgive sins which Christ granted to His Church. 
Confession, therefore, is not a mere human invention devised 
by the Church, but the ordinary means appointed by Christ 
for the remission of sins. 

Man is free to obey or disobey, but once he has sinned he 
must seek pardon, not on conditions of his own choosing, but 
on those which God has determined and these, for Christians, 
are embodied in the Sacrament of Penance. 

This wonderous power of forgiving sins Our Lord Jesus 
Christ transmitted to St. Peter and the other Apostles, when 
he said: "Amen! I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind 
upon earth shall be bound also in Heaven; and whatsoever 
you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in Heaven" (St. 
Matth. xviii : 18) . After His Resurrection, Our Lord said again 
to His Apostles: "As the Father hath sent me, I also send 
you." When He had said this, He breathed on them; and 

113 



He said to them: '* Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins 
you shall forgive they are forgiven them and whose sins you 
shall retain they are retained'* (St. John xx: 21-23). 

St. Paul testifies to the power received when he says: 
'* God hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation" (II Cor- 
inth. V. 18). 

If we ponder over the previous words of Otir Lord it will 
seem obvious that the apostles, and the priests, their right 
successors, must not grant or withhold forgiveness indis- 
criminately, but that they must act judicially, forgiving or 
retaining according as the sinner deserves. Now priests 
cannot "bind" or *4oose" unless the sinners open their con- 
sciences to them. Therefore the words of Christ, instituting 
the Sacrament of Penance, surely imply the doctrine of the 
external manifestation of conscience to a priest in order to 
obtain pardon. 

It goes without saying that, regarding the sins revealed to 
him in Sacramental Confession, the priest is bound to invi- 
olable secrecy and from this obligation he cannot be excused 
even to save his own life. 

Intelligent and clear minded people even outside the 
Church have publicly acknowledged the manifold useftilness 
of the Tribunal of Penance. Among these the words of the 
celebrated philosopher Leibnitz on that matter are well 
known: "This whole work of sacramental penance is, indeed, 
worthy of the Divine wisdom and if aught else in the Christian 
dispensation is meritorious of praise, siurely this wondrous 
institution is, for the necessity of confessing one's sins deters 
a man from committing them and hope is given to him who 
may have fallen again after expiation. The pious and prudent 
confessor is in very deed a great instnmient in the hands of 
God for man's regeneration, for the kindly advice of God's 
priest helps man to control his passions, to know the lurking 
places of sin, to avoid the occasions of evil doing, to restore 
ill-gotten goods, to have hope after depression and doubt, to 
have peace after affliction; in a word, to remove or at least 

114 



loosen all evil, and if there is no pleasure on earth like unto 
a faithful friend, what must be the esteem a man must have 
for him who is in very deed a friend in the hoiur of his direct 
need?'^ {Sy sterna Theologicum.) 

In every Catholic Church, therefore, confessionals are to 
be found. They generally are an inclosed place or a small 
structiu*e, furnished with a seat for the priest and with two 
grated apertures, so that the penitent who is on the other 
side of the grating may whisper his sins into the confessor's 
ear without being heard or seen by others. 

In Our Lady of Esperanza there are two confessionals, 
placed against the rear wall of the aisles, facing the side altars. 
They are of brown oak and of simple but neat design. They 
were donated, one by Mrs. Frederic Neilson, and the other 
by Dr. Ramon Guiteraz. 




"5 



PART IV 
THE VESTIBULE 




CHAPTER I 

"A LA MEMORIA DE MI MADRE" 

A miniature window — The coat of arms of Spain — "To the memory of my mother" — 
The "narthex" or vestibule. 

S the visitor leaves the nave of the Church to 
return to the vestibule he notices, above the 
double swinging door which leads to it, a small 
oblong stained glass window. It is divided into 
three equal partitions. The middle one is glazed 
with the coat of arms of Spain, consisting of a round shield, 
adorned with the fleur-de-lis, the lions and the castles. The 
shield itself is stirrounded by laurels and festoons. Two 
angels, one on each side, are seen on their knees, holding forth 
with one hand the Spanish blazon, while the other hand holds 
against the breast a small bough of pomegranate tree loaded 
with ripe fruit bursting open. Both angels are dressed in 
ample robes of exquisite old gold coloring; their beautiful 
wings are stretched out and their youthful heads surrounded 
with elaborate halos. The whole motive is like the skylight 
ceiling of faint amber toned glass, and produces a delightful 
effect against the blue background. A short inscription en- 
graven on a bronze plate adorns the upper doorpost, below 
the window — ^it reads: A la memoria de mi Madre (To 
the memory of my Mother). These simple words bear 
testimony to the filial devotion of Miss Maria de Barril, the 
great benefactress of this church, to her beloved mother. 
Both the mother and daughter have now passed away: two 
women whose shining deeds and ardent devotion to their 
race will live forever. 

The vestibule, also called narthex, of a church is the small 
hall between the outer door and the interior of the building. 
It was in the narthex that in the early ages of the Church 

119 



catechtimens and public penitents used to gather for attending 
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; it was there also that the 
baptismal font stood and the Sacrament of Regeneration was 
administered. The main entrance of the church is flanked 
by two doors glazed with beautiful illustrations of Christian 
motherhood. The one on the right hand represents *'St. 
Monica and her son St. Augustine at Ostia," and the other 
^'The Return from Calvary.'* 



X20 




CHAPTER II 

"ST. MONICA AND ST. AUGUSTINE AT OSTIA" 

A reproduction in glass of a celebrated painting — Short account of St. Monica's life — 
Conversion of St. Augustine — Description of the window. 

IT. MONICA was bom, in the year 332, of 
Catholic parents. On reaching the age of woman- 
hood she married Patricias, a heathen, whom she 
served with admirable patience and finally gained 
to God. Her greatest delights were to help the 
poor, assist daily at Mass, watch over the education of her 
children, two sons and one daughter, and imitate the actions 
of the Saints. 

Augustine was bom in 354. As he grew up, Monica was 
unceasing in her care to plant the seed of virtue in his soul, 
but the young man was unhappily led astray by heretics. 
For nine years his saintly mother appealed to Heaven with 
sighs, tears and prayers for his conversion. ''Continue to do 
as you do,*' a good old bishop said to her one day, "it is 
impossible that a child of such tears should perish." 

One night, while his mother was praying in a chapel, 
Augustine secretly boarded a vessel bound for Italy. On 
finding that her son had sailed, Monica's grief was extreme. 
She decided to follow her erring boy and found him at Milan, 
where she learned from St. Ambrose's lips that he was no 
longer a heretic. Augustine was actually baptised in 386, by 
the great and holy bishop of Milan. 

''My son," said Monica, "there is nothing in this life that 
affords me any delight. All my hopes in this world are at an 
end. The only thing for which I desired to live was that I 
might see you a Catholic and a child of Heaven. God has 
done much more. I see you now despising all earthly felicity 

X2I 



and entirely devoting yourself to His service. Then what 
further business have I here?" 

Monica and her two sons resolved then to return to Africa, 
but they had only reached the port of Ostia, near Rome, when 
the illustrious woman was seized with a fever. ^'Are you not 
afraid of being biiried so far away from your country?'' a 
friend asked her. ^* Nothing is far from God*' she replied, 
**nor need I fear that He will not find my body to raise it 
with the rest.'' 

As death was fast approaching, Monica said to her two 
sons: '^You will bury your mother here." Augustine was 
silent, but Navigus expressed a wish that she might not die 
in a foreign land. *'Lay this body anyivhere" she said. 
**Be not concerned about that. The only thing I ask of you 
both is to remember me at the altar of God wheresoever you 



are." 



She grew paler and weaker, spending the last moments of 
her life in spiritual colloquies with her illustrious son, while 
the blue sea before them gently mtirmured at their feet. 
Soon her beautiful soul winged its flight to Heaven, where 
sorrows and tears are unknown. It was in the year 387. 

St. Augustine landed at Carthage in 388. He at once 
retired to his country house, where he spent nearly three years 
in meditation, penance and prayer. He was ordained priest 
in 390, and then gave himself entirely to the instruction of his 
flock, preaching every day and sometimes twice a day. Made 
Bishop of Hippo, much against his own wishes, he became, by 
his teaching and writings, the greatest Doctor of his time, 
I should say, of all times. Popes, Councils and the whole 
Church have honored his holy memory and immortal works. 
His *' Confessions" and the *' City of God" are the best known 
of all his writings, the latter being one of the greatest monu- 
ments of himian genius. 

His famous remark on the name ''Catholic" is even more 
suggestive in oiu* day than fourteen centuries ago: "I am 
retained in the Chtirch" he says "by her very name of 



122 




SS^-^SL#^ 



Catholic; for it was not without a cause that she alone, amid 
so many heresies, obtained that name. All the heretics desire 
to be called Catholics; but if a stranger asks them which is 
the Church of the Catholics, none of them venture to point 
out their church." 

The scene here portrayed is a reproduction in glass of the 
celebrated painting, by Ary Scheffer, which belongs to the 
Louvre Museum in Paris. Both the mother and the son, 
seated near each other, seem to be in rapture, their hands are 
clasped, their eyes are raised up to heaven and their holy 
coimtenances reflect a heavenly peace as though they were 
already beholding the portals of Paradise, afar off. 

The upper part of the window is inscribed with St. 
Augustine's well known apostrophe to the Eternal Truth: 

Verdad siempre antigua y siempre nueva que tarde te 
conoci, que tarde te ante (O truth, ever ancient and ever 
new, I have been acquainted with Thee too late and too late 
did I love Thee!). 

Then follows this invocation to St. Monica: Modelo de 
esposas y madres cristianas ruega por nosotros (Model of 
Christian spouses and mothers, pray for us). 

The lower part of the window bears this memorial inscrip- 
tion : A la memoria de Mary Frances Kinney : de su hijo 
Morris Kinney (To the memory of Mary Frances Kinney 
from her son Morris Kinney) . 



133 




CHAPTER III 

"THE RETURN FROM CALVARY" 

Another reproduction of a beautiful painting — The Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of 
Martyrs — ^Description of the window. 

IHE other door on the left of the raain entrance of 
the church is adorned with stained glass por- 
traying the Blessed Virgin and St. John returning 
from Calvary. It is hard to describe that touch- 
ing and sacred scene. 
St. John himself, the Beloved Disciple, is going to give us a 
brief account of what happened before the death of Christ on 
the Cross (St. John xix) : 

25. Now there stood by the Cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, 
Mary of Cleophas and Mary Magdalen. 

26. When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing, whom 
he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. 

27. After that he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour 
the disciple took her to his own. A moment passed, the Saviour of Mankind bowed his 
head, the rocks were rent and the Redemption was accomplished. 

After the body of Our Lord had been taken down from the 
Cross, Nicodemus and Joseph, of Arimathea, "bound it in linen 
cloths, with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to btiry, '' 
and laid it in the new sepulchre which was nigh at hand. 

The scene pictured in this window is also the reproduction 
of another well known painting by B. Plockhorst, and is 
entitled "The Return from Calvary.*' One sees on the 
distant hill the three vacant crosses which project their dis- 
mal silhouette against the gloomy sky. Both Mary and the 
Beloved Disciple, overwhelmed with pain, come down slowly 
from Calvary. An infinite anguish can be read on the sweet 
countenance of Mary as she leans heavily on the shoulder of 
St. John. Her sorrowful eyes are dimmed and hollowed from 
weeping, her hands, bloodless, are held by St. John, and all 
her features sharpened by her inward sorrow. 

124 



The Holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church place the 
sufferings of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary on Calvary above 
those of all the martyrs. Indeed, the prophecy of Simeon 
proved to be true: "Thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that 
out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed." The Church, 
therefore, is right in styling her: "Queen of Martyrs." 

Under the world's redeeming wood 
The most afflicted Mother stood 
Mingling her tears with her Son's blood. 

As that streamed down from every part, 
Of all His wounds she felt the smart — 
What pierced His body, pierced her heart. 

Oh! worse than Jewish heart that could, 
Unmoved, behold the double flood 
Of Mary's tears and Jesus' blood. 

Great Queen of Sorrows! in thy train 
Let me a mourner's place obtain, 
With tears to cleanse of sinful stain.^ 

The upper part of the stained glass window is inscribed 
with the following words : Jesus al expirar viendo at pie de la 
Cruz a Maria y a Juan el discipulo amado dijo a su madre: 
^^Mujer, ahi tienes a tu hijo'^ despues dijo al discipulo: ''ahi 
tienes a tu madre'' (Before expiring, Jesus seeing at the foot 
of the Cross Mary and John, the Beloved Disciple, said to His 
Mother: "Woman, behold thy son.^' Then he said to the 
disciple : ' 'Behold thy mother") . 

The lower part of the window bears this memorial dedi- 
cation: A la memoria de Francis Sherwood Kinney: de su 
hijo Warren Kinney. (To the memory of Francis Sherwood 
Kinney: from his son Warren Kinney.) 

^Stabat Mater. 



125 




CHAPTER IV 

A MEMORIAL TABLET 

To the memory of Miss Maria de Barril — ^A great benefactress of this Church — The 
inscription. 

|0 the wall of the vestibule, just opposite the glass 
door adorned with the picture of St. Monica and 
St. Augustine, a bronze memorial tablet is fas- 
tened. This tablet was erected to the memory 
of Miss Maria de Barril, on the 23rd of January, 
1920, first anniversary of her death. As long as this church 
stands the name of its great benefactress will be preserved in 
our memories, for. it was mostly through Miss de Barril' s zeal 
and untiring efforts that the erection of this beautiful temple 
was made possible. She was interested in the Spanish Church 
in New York since its inception and to her principally was 
assigned the work of raising funds for its decoration. *'Do 
it as a memorial to your mother" had been Cardinal Farley's 
injunction. Miss de Barril readily accepted the task, and 
began campaigning among her very influential friends, with 
the utmost success. She talked Spanish art and Spanish 
literature at every tvirn. Her enthusiasm knew no bounds and 
it infected all those to whom she appealed. She secured in 
that way the hearty cooperation of a large number of notable 
and influential people who generously contributed to the 
decoration fund. 

The tablet erected by the rector of this church, the Rev. 
Fr. Adrian Euisson, to her memory, is a piece of exquisite 
workmanship. It is of hammered bronze, and consists of a 
shaft enhanced by two pilasters — one on each side of the in- 
scription. These pilasters, crowned by ornate Ionian capitals, 
support a beautiful entablature adorned in its center with the 

126 




MISS MARIA DE BARRIL 



arms of Spain and topped with the Cross. The following 
dedication in Spanish is engraven thereon: 

A LA MEMORIA 
DE LA SeNORITA 

Maria de Barril 
Insigne bienhechora 

DE ESTA IgLESIA 

Desde su fundacion 

"Amo y adorno la casa de Dios" 

FALLEC16: Enero 23 de 1919. 

E. p. D. 

Translation: 

To the memory of Miss Maria de Barril, signal benefactress of this Church since its 
foundation. "She loved and adorned the house of God." She died January 23, 1919. 
May her soul rest in peace. 



127 




CHAPTER V 

BAPTISMAL FONT 

The Sacrament of Baptism — Its necessity for salvation — ^Ancient Baptistries — The 
blessing of the baptismal water — Description of the font. 

N the first ages of Christianity persons desirous of 
Baptism were not admitted at once into the 
Church, but were first obHged to receive thorough 
instruction in the CathoUc reHgion. In memory of 
this ancient ordinance, infants or grown-up people 
to be baptized are not admitted immediately into the Church, 
but must remain in the vestibule. This ceremony is also 
intended to remind us that catechimiens do not yet belong to 
the Church, baptism being the door through which we enter 
into her and become heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven. It is 
also thereby indicated that without baptism no one can be 
saved, as Christ Himself says: "Unless a man be born again 
of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the King- 
dom of God" (St. John iii:S). 

Baptism was instituted by Our Lord Jesus Christ at His 
own baptism in the River Jordan and it was enjoined upon 
the Chtirch at his Ascension when he told His apostles to go 
"baptizing all nations in the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (St. Matth. xxviii: 19). 

Since baptism is of such urgent necessity for salvation it 
follows that every adult shotdd ardently desire it; moreover, 
parents should not allow their children to die unbaptized 
through negligence. Indeed, they ought to have them chris- 
tened immediately after their birth. 

In the first Christian centuries only the bishop, or a priest 
whom he empowered to act for him, had the right to baptize. 
But when the number of the faithful grew larger, and the tasks 

128 



of the bishop were engrossing, the power to baptize was made 
a part of the priest's office. 

Originally baptism was only administered in baptistries, 
that is, small chapels situated either in close proximity to the 
principal church of the diocese or in the interior of the build- 
ing. About the Seventh Century infant baptism became 
universal and adiilt baptism of rare occurrence ; fonts contain- 
ing blessed water were then placed in the church where the 
bishop officiated. So sacred a ceremony ought, of course, 
to be performed in a consecrated place. St. Louis, of France, 
used to say: '*I think more of the private chapel where I 
was baptized than of the Cathedral of Rheims where I was 
crowned ; for the dignity of a child of God, which was bestowed 
upon me at Baptism, is greater than that of the ruler of a 
Kingdom. The latter I shall lose at death, the other will be 
my passport to everlasting glory.'* 

The water used in baptism is solemnly blessed on Holy 
Sattirday and on the eve of Pentecost. The ceremonies which 
accompany such a blessing are very impressive, interwoven as 
they are with prayers and chants and many symbolical rites, 
such as the breathing upon the water, dipping the paschal 
candle into it, mixing of the chrism consecrated by the bishop 
on Holy Thursday, etc. Now the usual ceremonies of bap- 
tism itself are as beautiful as they are symbolic; moreover, 
they all have a sanctifying influence and consecrate him who 
receives them a fitting temple of the Holy Ghost. 

The baptismal font of a Church is "ordinarily a decorative 
stone basin, though metal or wood are used, supported on a 
pedestal or colimm at a convenient height for receiving the 
water which is poured over the head of the person baptized, 
a form which marks the term of a development graphically 
illustrating the history of the mode of conferring baptism. "^ 

According to the Roman Ritual, which epitomizes the 
present law, the font should be in the chiurch or in a nearby 
baptistry, within a railed enclosure, and secured by a lock and 

^The Catholic Encyclopedia (Vol ii, p. 274). 

129 



key, of a substantial material fit to hold water, of becoming 
shape and ornamentation and covered so as to guard it against 
profanation and to exclude anything unclean. 

These descriptions fit admirably the baptistry and bap- 
tismal font of Our Lady of Esperanza. The latter is made of 
white marble. It consists of a base from which rises a hexag- 
onal pedestal. This supports the font itself, adorned by a 
circlet of cherubs. A further scrutiny shows that the basin 
or font is divided into two compartments, one to contain the 
baptismal water, the other always empty and clean to receive 
the drippings. 

The exterior of the basin is engraved with the following 
inscription: A la memoria de Charles F. Havemeyer y 
Natalie Mayer: De su hermano Theodore A, Havemeyer 
(To the memory of Charles F. Havemeyer and Natalie Mayer: 
From their brother Theodore A. Havemeyer). 



130 



PART V 
THE GALLERIES 



CHAPTER I 



THE ORGAN LOFT 




The fagade windows — Origin of the organ — Monarch of all instruments — Organ of Our 
Lady of Esperanza. 

jWO wooden staircases, one on each side of the 
entrance, l^ad up to the organ loft and galleries 
of the church. The left-hand staircase leading 
up to the left gallery is lighted by an upper win- 
dow, glazed with the arms of His Holiness Pope 
Pius X, of blessed memory. Another window, the counter- 
part of the latter, opens into and lights the right-hand stair- 
case leading to the right gallery. It is glazed with the heraldic 
bearings of the late lamented archbishop of New York, His 
Eminence Cardinal John Farley. Three other small windows, 
hidden by the organ loft, open in the center of the facade and 
are adorned with the monogrammic name of Jesus and its 
accompanying symbols. 

The Organ Loft 

The organ loft of Our Lady of Esperanza occupies the 
high arch opposite the sanctuary and over the entrance hall. 

As everybody knows, a church organ is, in its complete 
modern form, the largest, most powerful and most varied in 
resources of all musical instnmients. It consists of from one 
to many sets of pipes — each pipe giving only one tone — 
sounded by compressed air from bellows and played by means 
of one or more keyboards. 

The poet says : 

The Organ — greatest instrument the hand 

Of man has placed in Music's galaxy: 

In which all Nature's wondrous sounds are linked 

In golden chains of countless harmonies. 

Responsive to the touch of man's weak hands 

133 



As if a giant's fingers swept its keys 

And call concordant voices from the depths, 

The diapason of the storm-struck sea, 

The thunder's peal, the wind's wild whistling wail, 

The songs of swift- winged warblers in the air. 

And the soft sighing of the ambient breeze. 

Temple of Tone art thou! The shrine supreme 

Of Sound's mysterious powers and richest gifts. 

God given thought alone could have inspired 

The himian mind to frame so grand a work: 

Great Organ — Monarch of all Instruments! 

It is interesting to find a Pope among the first organ- 
builders of history; Sylvester II who seems to have built 
a hydraulic organ at the very beginning of the Eleventh 
Century. Since the early Middle Ages, Germany, Italy, 
France, and England have transmitted to the world the 
names of a large number of organ-builders. 

In America, the first organ erected was imported from 
Eiurope in 1713 for Queen's Chapel, Boston; the first one built 
in this country was the work of a Bostonian, Edward Broom- 
field (1745). From the Twelfth Century up to the present 
time the organ became the privileged church instrument, the 
majesty and impressive character of its melodious tone making 
it a particularly suitable means for adding solemnity to divine 
worship and for supporting the singing of the choir. 

When organ playing was first introduced in Catholic 
churches it only aimed at rendering religious melodies, but 
it is likely that the earliest attempts at polyphonic music, from 
the Ninth Centiury on, were made with the organ, since such 
attempts received the same name of ^'organimi. *' 

From the Fourteenth Century organ compositions have 
flourished in all the most important countries of the world. 

The local position of the organ in a church must be 
determined first by the accoustic effect, second by the prox- 
imity of the organ to the singers, third by the architectural 
fitness. These three requirements have been happily com- 
bined in the Chtirch of Otir Lady of Esperanza. The organ 
loft is fittingly situated over the vestibule, between the two 
galleries, and its architecttiral featiures help greatly toward 

134 




HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL FARLEY 
Late Archbishop of New York 



beautifying the precious edifice. Moreover, the ''maestros*' 
and the choir of the Spanish Church are rightly renowned for 
their artistic taste and fine achievements. Indeed, worshippers 
feel nearer to God when the choir sings and 

"The deep, majestic, solemn organs blow" (Pope). 

This organ of Oiu* Lady of Esperanza is the gift of Mr. 
and Mrs. Frederick W. Vanderbilt. It was built by the Austin 
Organ Company, Hartford, Connecticut. 



135 




CHAPTER II 

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS : LEFT GALLERY 

An array of Spanish heroes and heroines — First panel: St. James the Great and St. 
Ferdinand, King — Second panel: St. Justa and St. Rufina, martyrs of Seville — 
Third panel: St. Isidore of Seville and St. Ildephonsus of Toledo. 

|HE stained glass windows of the galleries are six 
in number and portray twelve heroes or heroines 
of Spanish Christianity — ^two in every panel. 
These saintly personages all stand out from the 
same background, whose decorative scheme con- 
sists of a round arch supported by two slim columns. 

First Panel 

The first panel in the left gallery portrays two great 
patrons of Spain, St. James the Great and St. Ferdinand, 
King. 

St. James the Great (Santiago el Mayor), apostle, 
martyr and patron of Spain, was the first of the twelve who 
had the sublime honor of dying for Jesus Christ and the 
Catholic faith. He was the brother of the Beloved Disciple, 
St. John the Evangelist. Otu* Lord singled out St. Peter, 
St. James and St. John, from among the Apostles, by many 
special favors. They alone were spectators of His glorious 
Transfiguration, and they alone beheld His Agony in the 
garden. After the Ascension of Otir Blessed Lord and the 
descent of the Holy Ghost, St. James left Judea and preached 
the Gospel in several countries, including Spain. Hence he 
has always been venerated by the Spaniards as their Patron 
Saint. 

During the Apostle's stay in Saragossa (Spain), according 
to a very ancient tradition, he was favored with a remarkable 
vision. One night he saw the Blessed Virgin Mary standing 

136 




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before him on a jasper pillar and all around were multitudes 
of singing angels. ''Build me a Church in this place," said 
Our Lady, " I know that this part of Spain will be particularly 
devout to me, and from this moment I take it tinder my 
patronage." St. James carried out Mary's command and 
erected on that spot a chapel which he called ''The Chapel of 
Our Lady of the Pillar." A church of the same name still 
stands there and is held in great veneration by the whole 
Spanish people. 

Eleven years after Our Lord's Ascension St. James re- 
turned to Jerusalem where his preaching converted many. 
The Jews, enraged at his success, plotted to kill him. King 
Agrippa, in his desire to please the people, had the Saint 
arrested and then beheaded (43 A.D.). 

St. Ferdinand, King of Leon and Castile (San Fernando, 
Rey), was bom, in 1198, near Salamanca. In 1217 he became 
king of Castile and, in 1230, succeeded to the crown of Leon. 
He took as his counsellors the wisest men in the state and 
ruled his subjects with love and justice, fearing, as he said, 
the cvirse of one poor woman more than a whole army of 
Saracens. In 1219 he married the virtuous daughter of 
Philip of Swabia, King of Germany. God blessed this imion 
with seven children. Ferdinand's highest aims were the 
propagation of the Faith and the liberation of Spain from the 
Saracens. He took from the latter vast territories, Granada 
and Alicante alone remaining in their power at the time of his 
death. He reestablished Catholic worship everywhere, turning 
mosques into chtuches, fotmding monasteries and endowing 
hospitals. Amid the tumult of the camps, he lived like a 
monk in his cloister, for he used to fast strictly, wear a rough 
hair shirt and spend his nights in prayer, especially before 
battles. He foimded the University of Salamanca, the Athens 
of Spain. Ferdinand died at Seville May 30, 1252. He was 
buried there in the great cathedral, clothed, at his own request, 
in the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis. His body, it 
is said, remains incorrupt. Many miracles took place at his 

137 



tomb and Clement X canonized him in 1671. His feast is 
celebrated on the day he died, the 30th of May. 

St. James the Apostle is here represented in the garb and 
costume of a Pilgrim, a robe of blue covered with a gray 
mantle upon which is embroidered a scallop, the emblem of 
the Pilgrim. He carries the staff and gourd in his right hand, 
and the open book of his Epistle in his left. 

King Ferdinand wears the dress of the Crusader, a short 
green tunic, a cloak of gray upon which the Crusader's cross 
is embroidered. He carries the war axe and gleaming from 
its sheath is the hilt of the sword. In his left hand he holds 
a globe, emblem of authority. 

The following inscription appears at the bottom of the 
two windows: Esta ventana es un donativo de Josephina S, 
Brugiere en memoria de Emilio A. Brugiere (This window 
is the gift of Josephina S. Brugiere in memory of Emilio A. 
Brugiere) . 

Second Panel 

The second panel on the left wall of the gallery represents 
two holy virgins and martyrs, St. Justa and St. Rufina. 

These two saints lived in Seville (Spain), toward the end 
of the Third Century. To maintain themselves and help the 
poor they sold earthenware. A good Christian finds in the most 
ordinary course of life occasions for performing many heroic 
acts of virtue by doing everything with a most ardent desire 
to please God. Such were the lives of Sts. Justa and Rufina. 
These two exceedingly holy women gave all their substance to 
the poor and sacrificed themselves to help others, and no 
motives could draw them to give up their faith. In order not to 
submit to the idolatrous superstitions they refused to sell 
vessels for the use of pagan sacrifices. The heathens, on ac- 
count of these religious scruples, broke all the ware in their 
shop and impeached them for their faith before the governor. 
The latter, after they had boldly confessed Christ, commanded 
them to be stretched on the rack and their sides, in the mean- 

138 



time, to be torn with iron hooks. An idol with incense was 
placed near the rack, so that if they would offer sacrifice they 
would be that moment released. But they remained faithful 
to the true God to the end. Justa expired on the rack. When 
the judge saw this he ordered Rufina to be strangled, and the 
two bodies to be biuned. (304 a.d.) 

These holy women are clothed in the poorest of peasant's 
garb, a dark red-and-green dress, a poor cloak of brown. They 
carry in their right hands the earthen vessels which they were 
wont to sell, and in their left the palm of martyrdom. At 
the bottom of these two windows the following memorial in- 
scription may be read: Dedicado a la memoria de Heloise 
Keller, por su hijo Louis Keller (Dedicated to the memory of 
Heloise Keller by her son, Louis Keller) . 

Third Panel 

The third and last panel on the left wall portrays two great 
and celebrated Spanish bishops, St. Isidore of Seville and St. 
Ildephonsus of Toledo. 

St. Isidore of Seville was born at Cartagena (Spain), 
about 560. He studied in Seville and became one of the 
greatest scholars of his time. He succeeded his brother 
Leander to the Metropolitan See of Seville in 599, while a 
younger brother, St. Fulgentius, was elected bishop of Astigi. 
A sister Florentina was a nun, and is said to have ruled over 
forty convents. St. Isidore set himself to the task of welding 
into a homogeneous nation the various peoples who made up 
the Hispano-Gothic kingdom. Arianism was eradicated, the 
new heresy of Acephales completely stifled, and religious 
discipline strengthened. Like his brother Leander, he took 
a prominent part in several important councils, namely, those 
of Toledo and Seville, and was the quickening spirit that 
animated the educational movement through Spain. He was 
the first Christian writer to essay the task of compiling a 
summa of universal knowledge and his books, which truly 
constitute the first chapter of Spanish literature, exercised an 

139 



immeastirable influence on the educational life of the Middle 
Ages. The eighth Council of Toledo (653), recorded its 
admiration of his character in these glowing terms: "The 
extraordinary doctor, the latest ornament of the Catholic 
Church, the most learned man of the latter ages, always to 
be named with reverence, Isidore." He died the 4th of 
April, 636. 

St. Ildephonsus of Toledo was born of a distinguished 
family and was a nephew of St. Eugenius, his predecessor in 
the See of Toledo. At an early age, despite the opposition 
of his father, he entered the monastery of Agli, near Toledo, 
to embrace monastic life. He was ordained a deacon about 
630 by Helladius, his former Abbot. He himself became 
Abbot of Agli, and was, toward the end of 657 elected arch- 
bishop of Toledo. He governed that Church for a little more 
than nine years, and he died on the 23d of January, 667. 
He was buried in the Basilica of St. Leocadia. His biographers 
relate that he was the disciple of St. Isidore of Seville and 
recall two marvellous stories of which the second, a favorite 
theme of poets and artists, has been for ages associated with 
the memory of the saint. Ildephonsus, it is said, was one 
day praying before the relics of St. Leocadia when the martyr 
arose from her tomb and thanked the saint for the devotion 
he showed toward the Mother of God. It was related fur- 
ther that on another occasion the Blessed Virgin appeared to 
him in person and presented him with a priestly vestment to 
reward him for his zeal in honoring her. His literary work is 
better known than the details of his life and merits for him a 
distinguished place among Spanish writers. 

St. Isidore wears his ecclesiastical robes of archbishop — 
the jeweled mitre, the heavily embroidered cope. He is 
tall and majestic, though somewhat advanced in age. He 
has the "tools of the scholar, the pen, the scroll and the 
book," together with his crosier. 

The archbishop's robes fall lightly over the youthful form 
of St. Ildephonsus. His features show the austere life he led. 

140 



His brown cloak, studded with jewels, his mitre and his crosier 
form a striking contrast to the emaciated face of the young 
saint. 

The dedicatory inscription reads as follows: Donativo de 
la Senora /. Duncan Emmet (Gift of Mrs. J. Duncan Emmet). 



141 




CHAPTER III 

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS— RIGHT GALLERY 

Fourth panel: St. Peter of Alcantara and St. Thomas of Villanova — ^Fifth panel: 
St. Theresa of Jesus and St. Rose of Lima — Sixth panel: St. Ignatius of Loyola 
and St. Francis Xavier. 

Fourth Panel 

T the end of the right gallery, near the upper 
sacristy, the fourth panel represents, from left to 
right, St. Peter of Alcantara and St. Thomas of 
Villanova. 

St. Peter of Alcantara was born at Alcan- 
tara (Spain), in 1499. His father was the governor of that 
place. After studying grammar and philosophy in his native 
town he was sent, when fourteen, to the University of Sala- 
manca. Returning home, he entered the Franciscan Order of 
the Stricter Observance, in 1515. He was ordained priest in 
1524 and the following year made Guardian of a convent. 
For a few years he preached with great success, and his ser- 
mons breathe the tenderest human sympathy. Having been 
elected Provincial, he drew up in that capacity the Constitu- 
tions of the Stricter Observance, but his severe ideas met with 
such opposition that he resigned his office and retired into the 
mountains of Arabida (Portugal), as a hermit. Soon, how- 
ever, other friars came to join him and several little com- 
munities were established in the Province of Arabida. Return- 
ing to Spain, in 1553, he spent there two more years in solitude 
and then jotirneyed barefoot to Rome and obtained permission 
of Julius ni to found some poor convents in Spain under the 
jurisdiction of the General of the Conventuals. These new 
communities were erected in 1561 into a new Province, with 
Peter as superior. Not discouraged by the opposition he met, 
twenty years before, he finally drew up the Constitutions of 

142 




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m 



the new Province with even greater severity. The reform 
spread rapidly into other parts of Spain and Portugal. St. 
Peter of Alcantara greatly encouraged St. Theresa in her 
reform of Carmel. The most remarkable of Peter's graces 
were his gift of contemplation and the virtue of penance. 
His love of God was so ardent as to cause him sensible pain 
and frequently rapt him in ecstasy. God worked many mira- 
cles through his intercession. He died the 18th of October, 
1562, and was canonized in 1669. Besides the Constitutions 
of the Stricter Observance and many letters on spiritual sub- 
jects, especially to St. Theresa, he composed a short treatise 
on prayer which has been translated into all the languages of 
Europe. His feast is October 19. 

St. Thomas of Villanova was born at Fuentellana 
(Spain), in 1488. The saint was brought up in the practices 
of religion and charity, for his father and mother were exceed- 
ingly generous, supplying with clothing, food and money all 
the poor who knocked at their door. When about sixteen, 
Thomas entered the University of Alcala where, after bril- 
liant studies, he filled the chair of arts, logic and philosophy 
(1514). Two years later he joined the Augustinians and was 
ordained to the priesthood, in 1518, at Salamanca. Having 
been appointed by the Emperor Charles V as court preacher 
and one of his councillors of state, he became one of the most 
influential men of his time. He also held many high offices 
in his Order. While Provincial-Prior of Castile, the first 
mission of his brethren was sent across the Atlantic, in 1533, 
to establish houses of their Order in Mexico. On August 5, 
1544, he was appointed Archbishop of Valencia and there 
won for himself the titles of "Almsgiver,'' "Father of the 
Poor*' and " Model of Bishops." For eleven years he worked 
hard for the spiritual and material welfare of his flock, build- 
ing hospitals and colleges and striving in every manner to 
reform the morals of his people. His heart and palace were 
always open to the poor, his whole life being replete with acts 
of kindness and generosity. He spent his spare time chiefly 

143 



in prayer and study. Numberless are the instances of St. 
Thomas' supernatural gifts, of his power of healing the sick, 
of multiplication of food, of his ecstasies, of his conversions of 
sinners. He died at Valencia, September 8, ISSS, when sixty- 
seven. His last words were the versicle: *'Into thy hands, 
O Lord, I commend my spirit." He was canonized in 1658 
and his feast day set for the 18th of September. 

St. Peter of Alcantara is represented in the habit of the 
Franciscan Order of Stricter Observance, with the cassock of 
dark brown and the knotted white girdle. He is gazing at the 
rude Crucifix, which he is holding in one hand, while an 
instrument of penance, the discipline, is held in the other. 

The garb of St. Thomas, Bishop, suits well this Apostle of 
the poor. His dark blue robe and brown mantle betoken his 
austerity, and the money bag, which is opened, shows that ' ' his 
greatest delight was to give, not to wear." 

This fourth panel is inscribed with the following words: 

Donativo de la Princesa Josefina del Drago (Gift of 
Princess Josefina del Drago) . 

Fifth Panel 

The fifth panel, the one in the center of the right gallery, 
portrays two great heroines of the Spanish race: St. Theresa 
of Jesus and St. Rose of Lima. 

St. Theresa of Jesus, the foundress of the Reformed 
Carmelites and one of the noblest women who ever lived, was 
bom at Avila (Spain), on the 28th of March, ISIS. She was 
only twelve years old when her mother died. Overwhelmed 
with sorrow, she threw herself on her knees and besought the 
Blessed Virgin Mary to be a mother to her. After finishing her 
studies Theresa entered the house of the Carmelite nuns near 
Avila, and made her profession with great fervor at the age of 
twenty. For three years her life was endangered by a terrible 
sickness which baffled all remedies, but the young nun was 
restored to perfect health through the intercession of St. 
Joseph. 

144 



After over a quarter of a century spent in the religious 
state, the Saint inspired by God began to work to reform her 
Order and to restore it to its ancient austerity. Despite great 
contradictions the Reformed CarmeHte Order began to grow 
and multiply wonderfully. It was during the erection of 
a new convent at Avila that a little nephew of the Saint, named 
Gonzales, was accidentally crushed by a falling wall. Theresa 
took the boy in her arms, prayed to God and restored him in 
perfect health to his mother. An eminent spirit of prayer, 
foimded in deep humility and perfect self-denial, was the 
sublime means by which God raised this holy virgin to such 
a heroic degree of sanctity. To pray was her greatest delight, 
for her heart was biurning with love for Jesus Christ. *'My 
Lord and my God, " she used to say, " I cannot think of con- 
versing with Thee without desiring to melt like wax in the 
fire of Thy divine love and to consume all that is earthly in 
me by loving Thee." Though superior and foundress she 
chose the greatest humiliations that could he practised in her 
Order, being eager to perform the lowest offices in the convent. 
When assailed with slanders she would say with a smile: 
'^ No music is so agreeable to my ears. " She set no bounds to 
her mortifications, chastising her delicate body by austere 
fasts and severe disciplines. Her charity was tender and 
beautiful, and she always observed the golden rule of speaking 
of others in the same kind way that she wotdd desire others 
to speak of her. She was singularly devoted to the Blessed 
Sacrament, and her fervor in approaching the Holy Table was 
inexpressible. 

If God often tried His servant in order to purify her virtue, 
He no less frequently favored her with celestial communica- 
tions, visions and raptiu*es during which the soul sometimes 
raised the body into the air. Though blessed with the most 
sublime graces, she was, nevertheless, as simple and tractable 
as a child, obeying her confessor as she would have done God 
Himself. It was in obedience to her spiritual advisor that 
she wrote her biography and several other books, which all 

145 



exhibit virtue, prudence, wit and judgment of the highest 
character, besides being written in the most charming style. 

The modesty of her countenance was a silent sermon on the 
beauty of purity, a virtue which she preserved spotless from 
the cradle to the grave. She died on the 15th of October, 1582, 
at the age of sixty-seven years, with the following words on 
her lips: "A contrite and humbled heart, O God; thou wilt 
not despise. ** (Psalm xl: 19.) She was canonized in 1621 and 
her feast day set for October 15. 

St. Rose of Lima, patroness of America, was born in 
Lima (Peru), on the 20th of April, 1586. Although she was of 
noble Spanish parentage, she was reared and died in South 
America, being the first favored one of the New World on 
whom Holy Church has bestowed the honor of canonization. 
At her confirmation she took the name of Rose, because when 
an infant her face had been seen transformed by a mystical 
rose. Her whole life was given up to prayer and mortification. 
She had an intense devotion to Our Lord, whom she received 
daily, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, before whose altar she 
spent hours. 

Having taken a vow of virginity she adopted extraordinary 
means to fulfill it. She used to fast daily and finally abstained 
from meat altogether. She spent her days in domestic work 
and her nights in prayer and penance. She finally retired 
to a little grotto, which she had built with her brother's aid, 
in their small garden, and there led practically the life of a 
recluse. In her twentieth year she received the habit of St. 
Dominic and thereafter redoubled the severity of her penances, 
wearing constantly a metal spiked crown concealed by roses 
and an iron chain about her waist. Our Lord revealed Him- 
self to her frequently, flooding her soul with heavenly peace 
and joy. Many miracles followed her death, which occurred 
on the 30th of August, 1617. She was beatified in 1667 and 
canonized in 1671. Her feast is celebrated on the 30th of 
August. 

In St. Theresa's pictiure the sombre habit of the Carmelites 

146 



is adorned by the Heart of Jesus embroidered upon it, together 
with the Crown of Thorns. She holds an open book in her 
hands and a look of heavenly peace pervades her features. 

St. Rose of Lima is here portrayed in all her youthful 
beauty, her sweet face, and abundant auburn tresses, which 
are crowned by a chaplet of roses. She loved flowers and 
gardening, so she is shown here with a rose in one hand and a 
garden rake in the other. 

The following memorial is inscribed at the bottom of this 
panel: A la memoria de Theresa Price Agar, de suo hijo John 
Giraud Agar (To the memory of Theresa Price Agar, from 
her son John Giraud Agar) . 

Sixth Panel 

The sixth panel, the last one of the right gallery, near the 
organ, is adorned with two other illustrious sons of Spain, 
whose names are well known all over the world, St. Ignatius 
of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier. 

St. Ignatius of Loyola was born, in 1491, in northern 
Spain. His early youth he spent in the pursuit of pleasures 
and vainglory. In 1517 a change for the better seems to 
have taken place, when he entered the army. But the turn- 
ing point of his life came in 1521. While the French were 
besieging Pampeluna he was severely wounded in the leg. 
During the long illness that ensued he was completely con- 
verted by reading the Lives of the Saints, whom he wished to 
rival in the way of penance. He therefore repaired to the 
Sanctuary of Montserrat, where he made a general confession 
and gave to the poor everything he had. After a few months 
spent in prayer, contemplation and austerities at Manresa, 
he started for the Holy Land (1523). The voyage was as 
painful as he had imagined. In 1524, Ignatius, in the dark 
as to his future, resolved to study. He learned Latin among 
school boys at Barcelona. In 1526 he repaired to the Univer- 
sity of Alcala, in 1527 to the University of Salamanca, whence, 
his many troubles continuing, he betook himself to Paris. 

147 



While there he met the first member of his Society, namely 
Francis Xavier, whom he trained in the same exterior morti- 
fication which he was himself practising. In 1537 Ignatius 
started for Rome to submit to the Pope the Constitutions of 
his proposed Institute. In April, 1541, he was elected first 
Superior General of his Order. The saint spent the later years 
of his life in partial retirement, giving up his time to governing 
the Society of Jesus. He died in Rome, July 31, 1556. He 
was canonized on May 22, 1622. His body lies under the 
altar designed by Pozzi in the Gesu at Rome. 

St. Francis Xavier was born in the castle of Xavier in 
Navarre, April 7, 1506. While studying in Paris he met St. 
Ignatius of Loyola and was the first to associate himself with 
him in the formation of the Society of Jesus. In 1536 he left 
Paris for Venice, where, on the 24th of June, 1537, he received 
Holy Orders with St. Ignatius. The following year both went 
to Rome and worked for the definitive foundation and appro- 
bation of the new Society. At the earnest request of John III, 
King of Portugal, Xavier was appointed to evangelize the 
East Indies. He embarked for India on April 7, 1541, and 
landed at Goa May 6, 1542. He devoted three years to the 
work of preaching to the people of Western India, converting 
many in spite of tremendous odds and persecutions. In 1545 
he started for Malacca and reaped there an abundant spiritual 
harvest. In 1546 Xavier went to the Molucca Islands, where 
he met a Japanese, whom he baptized, and from whom he 
obtained much information about Japan. His zeal was at 
once aroused by the idea of introducing Christianity into this 
country. After providing the new bom missions with priests 
and chiu-ches, he sailed for Japan in June, 1549. His first 
year in Japan he devoted to learning Japanese and translating 
into that language the Christian doctrine. For two years 
and a half he preached and worked hard, forming the nucleus 
of several Christian communities which in time increased 
rapidly. Leaving the Japanese mission in charge of one of 
his companions he went back to Goa, settled there some 

148 



difficulties and sailed for China. But he was taken ill before 
reaching the Chinese coast. He died on the Island of San- 
cian, December 2, 1SS2. It is a wonder that one man in ten 
years could have visited so many countries, preached the 
Gospel to so many nations and converted so many heathens. 
His apostolic zeal and stupendous miracles only can explain 
this marvel. St. Francis Xavier is considered the greatest 
missionary since the time of the Apostles. He was canonized 
with St. Ignatius in 1622. His body is still enshrined at 
Goa, but his right arm was conveyed to Rome to the Church 
of the Gesu in 1614, near the relics of St. Ignatius. 

St. Ignatius is here represented in alb and chasuble, and 
one may descry, surrounded by rays, the monogram of Christ 
— IHS — shining in his left hand. In his right hand he holds 
the Book of the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus engraved 
with the initial letters of the motto of the Order — ^A.M.D.G. 
Ad major em Dei gloriam. (To^the greater glory of God.) 

The garb of Christ's missionary envelops the form of St. 
Francis Xavier, the greatest apostle of modem times. He 
preached Christ crucified to thousands, so it is but fitting that 
the crucifix be carried in such a representation of him; and 
since he traveled far and wide he is here shown leaning upon 
his staff. 

At the bottom of these two windows one may read this 
short dedication: In memoriam: Irene Cruzat de Zanetti, 



X49 




CHAPTER IV 

THE CEILING SKYLIGHT 

The symbolism displayed in the skylight — The Three Persons of the Holy Trinity — 
God the Father — God the Son — God the Holy Ghost — "I am the vine, you the 
branches." 

I HE nave and galleries of the church are illiimin- 
ated by a ceiling skylight divided into three equal 
divisions, each one being emblazoned with the 
symbol of the three Divine Persons of the Blessed 
Trinity. These three divisions were made equal 
to signify that the Divine Persons, though three in number, 
are one in substance and perfectly equal. 

The Person of the Father is typified by two interlaced 
equilateral triangles, in the center of which an open eye is 
fixed on the hilt of a sword. The symbolic diagram of the 
Most Holy Trinity has ever been the equilateral triangle, for 
the relations of the three Persons one to another are precisely 
similar. The triangle is also understood to express that God 
the Father is the first Person of the Blessed Trinity. The 
eye which gazes at us from above reminds us that God is 
present everywhere and knows all things — ^the past, the pres- 
ent and the future: "Do not I fill heaven and earth saith 
the Lord" (Jeremias xxiii: 24). We read also in the Book of 
Proverbs (xv: 3) : *' The eyes of the Lord in every place behold 
the good and the evil." 

As the "eye" represents God's holy wisdom and omnis- 
cience, the "sword" symbolizes His divine justice which 
punishes evil and rewards good. "With a sharp sword carry- 
ing thy unfeigned commandment" (Wisdom xviii: 16). "He 
shall judge the world with justice" (Psalm xcvii: 9). "Ex- 
cept you will be converted He will brandish his sword" 
(Psalm vii: 13). 

God the Son is represented by His monogram, IHS (Jesus) ; 

ISO 




INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH 



above the three letters appears a cross and underneath three 
nails, while the whole device is surrounded by rays. 

The Holy Ghost is figured, as usual, as a dove, because He 
descended in the form of a dove and rested on Our Lord Jesus 
Christ at His baptism in the River Jordan. ''And Jesus being 
baptised, forthwith came out of the water; and lo, the heavens 
were opened to him : and he saw the Spirit of God descending 
as a dove and coming upon him" (Matth. iii: 16). 

Now, why is the symbolic emblem of the Holy Ghost 
blazoned in the middle division of the skylight? Because the 
third Person of the Most Holy Trinity proceeds both from 
the Father and the Son, as from one source, being none other 
than the mutual love of the Father and the Son. 

The background of the ceiling is of faint amber-toned glass, 
the kind that reflects gold in the sunshine, shafts of gold. 
Mindful of the words of Christ: '*! am the vine, you the 
branches" (John xv: 5), the artist has introduced around the 
emblematic designs of the Holy Trinity the vine and its fruit. 
Through the branches of the vine gleam the heraldic arms of 
many of the principal archiepiscopal sees of the Spanish- 
speaking world, and this is another exemplification of the 
following words of Christ in the same chapter of St. John: 
"Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit 
of itself tinless it abide in the vine, so neither can you unless 
you abide in me" (John xv: 4). So to bring forth good and 
plenteous fruit to eternal life. Christian churches have to be 
closely united to the vine of which Jesus Christ Himself and 
His Vicar upon earth, the Sovereign Pontiff, are the very root. 

Among the episcopal sees which are so represented "abiding 
in the vine" are those of Toledo, Seville, Madrid, Cordova, 
Salamanca, Mexico City, Bogota, Havana, Lima, Buenos 
Aires, Santiago of Chile, etc. This detail necessitated exten- 
sive correspondence with the heads of these various sees in 
• order to get the accurate heraldic bearings. 

This beautiful ceiling skylight was donated by Mrs. John 
William Mackay and Mr. Clarence H. Mackay. 



CONCLUSION 
AT the opening of the Spanish Church on July 21, 1912, 
j\ His Eminence Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York, 
closed his speech with the following remark: ''In this 
church let there be no North and South among you, as we say 
here. Let South Americans, Cubans, Mexicans, Spaniards, 
etc., all come here without thought of racial distinction and 
kneel together as Catholics." The earnest intimation of our 
lamented pastor has been heard, and Our Lady of Esperanza 
has become indeed the place of worship of all the Spanish- 
speaking Catholics of New York. 

Sunday after Sunday, from all parts of the city, even from 
lower Manhattan and far away places, these Spanish devotees, 
together with their American Catholic brethren, flock to 
the little church in such numbers as to tax the temple's 
capacity at the foiu* Sunday Masses. The eleven o'clock 
Mass, which is a High Mass, is more especially attended by 
those who love good music and who want to enjoy a sermon 
in Spanish. At that hour, every Sunday, stately Spanish 
ladies, with slow and graceful movements, climb the steps 
leading to the chiu-ch, while from their lips flows the liquid 
and harmonious language of Cervantes, "the gods' language." 

Weddings in the beautifully decorated little church 
of Nuestra Senora de la Esperanza attract also large crowds 
of people in the usually quiet street, between Broadway 
and Riverside Drive. This street, which contains Spain's 
treasure-trove is unlike any other in New York. One side of 
it is wholly American and the other decidedly Spanish. 
Refined ladies in lace and mantillas, members of the Spanish 
nobility, ministers or ex-presidents of the South American 
Republics, humble workmen and peons of Latin America, 
rich and poor alike, flock together every week into the sacred 
walls of the Spanish Church. 

152 



All these people have, indeed, been fully awakened to an 
appreciation and love of their own little cathedral so wonder- 
fully blessed with the atmosphere of devotion found in the 
mother country's churches. "An inspiring memorial of 
Spanish loyalty through the centuries to the Holy Church on 
the Rock of St. Peter is Nuestra Sefiora de la Esperanza, 
fotmded on the love of Spanish ideals by Spain's enthusiastic 
sons, daughters and friends." 




153 



APPENDIX 

Order of Services in the Church of Our Lady of Esperanza 

MASSES 

On Sundays — Four Masses are said every Sunday in the Church of Our Lady of Esper- 
anza, at 7.30, 9, 10 and 11 a.m. 

The 1 1 o'clock is always a missa cantata and the sermon is in Spanish. 
(During summer the 11 a.m. Mass is a Low Mass and is followed imme- 
diately by the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.) 
On Holy-days of Obligation — If, at the same time, the holy-days of obligation are also 
civil or legal holidays, the Masses are said at the same hours as on Sundays; if 
not, the Masses are said at 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 a.m. 
On Week Days — The first Mass is at 7 a.m. The second Mass is at 8.30. a.m. 

EVENING SERVICES 

On Sundays — The Rosary and the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament are at 4.30 
p.m. (Except on Sundays during the summer when the Benediction follows 
immediately the 1 1 a.m. Mass.) 

On Week Days — Every evening throughout the entire year (except on Confession days) 
the Rosary and Evening Prayer are recited at 8 p.m. These are followed on 
Tuesdays by special devotions to St. Anthony of Padua, and, on Thursdays, by the 
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. 

FIRST FRIDAYS 

Every first Friday of the month (except during the summer) the Blessed Sacrament 
is exposed on tne High Altar from 9 a.m. to 8.30 p.m., and the faithful are kindly invited 
on that occasion to come and spend an hour of adoration before Our Blessed Lord. 

CONFESSIONS 

Confessions are heard in Spanish, English and French. 

(a) On Saturdays, on the eve of first Fridays and holy-days of obligation, from 
3 to 6 p.m. and from 7 to 9.30 p.m. 

(b) Daily, before and after Masses, as well as evening services. 

(c) At any other time, during the day, on application to the sexton, who is always 
available and who can get a priest when requested. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE 

As this church is the proper parish of all Spanish-speaking Catholics in New York, 
they ought to apply here for Baptisms, Weddings, Sick Calls, Extreme Unction, 
Funerals, etc. 
Baptism is administered at any time on application, but generally on Saturday and 

Sunday afternoons. 
For Weddings it is required from both parties to make the necessary arrangements with 

the Pastor at least three weeks in advance. 
The Rectory of Our Lady of Esperanza is at 557 West 156th Street. Telephone: 

Audubon 4885. 

154 



LIST OF DONORS FOR THE BUILDING 

Mr. Archer M. Huntington 
SeSor Alberto Falcon 
Senor Antonio Gonzales 
Senor Alberto Leon 
Senor Miguel R. Martinez 
Senor Nicolas Saenz 
Senor Adolfo Ballivian 
Senor Valdes 
Senor Grieser 
Senor Eugenio Lopez 
Senor Dole 

Senora Barrios y A. Sterns 
Senora Caridad Kindelan 
Senora McCormick 
Senora Zoila H. de Mimbela 
Senora C. Vander-Gutch y San Pedro 
Senorita Maria de Barril 
Senorita Carmen Sarmiento 
Senorita Maria Cisneros 

The Rev. Fathers Augustinians of the Assumption 

And hundreds of Spaniards and Hispano-Americans who contributed generously 

according to their means. 



LIST OF OBJECTS DONATED AND NAMES OF DONORS 

Decorations and Pews, Etc, 

Gift of Mrs. Collis P. Huntington. 

High Altar, Communion Rail, Bronze Gates 

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Courtland Penfield 

Right Side Altar 

Gift of Mrs. Frederic Courtland Penfield 

Left Side Altar 

Gift of the late Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan and Mr. Amos T. Eno 

Crucifix and Sf'X Canonical Candlesticks 

Gift of Mrs. Frederick W. Vanderbilt 

Organ 

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick W. Vanderbilt 

Stations of the Cross 

Donated by Mr. Thomas F. Ryan 

Two Confessionals 
Donated by: 

(1) Mrs. Frederic Neilson 

(2) Dr. Ramon Guiteras 

Glass Windows, Skylight 

Gift of Mrs. John William Mackay and Mr. Clarence H. Mackay 

^S5 



Six Aisle Windows 

(1) "THe Annunciation." (2) "The Visitation." (3) "The Nativity." (4) 
"The Adoration of the Magi." (5) "The Presentation." (6) "The Marriage 
Feast at Cana." 
Donated by: 

Mr. Eugene Kelly 

Mr. Felipe Barreda and the Misses Rosa and Teresa Barreda 

Mrs. William F. Sheehan 

Messrs. Antonio and Alfonso de Navarro 

Mr. Henry O. Havemeyer, Jr. 

Mrs. Edward Kelly 

Six Gallery Windows 

(1) "St. James the Great and St. Ferdinand the King." (2) "St. Justa and St. 
Rufina." (3) " St. Isidore of Seville and St. Ildephonsus of Toledo." (4) "St. Peter 
of Alcantara and St. Thomas of Villanova." (5) "St. Theresa of Jesus and St. 
Rose of Lima." (6) "St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier." 
Donated by: 

Mrs. Emile A. Bruguiere 

Mr. Louis Keller 

Mrs. J. Duncan Emmet 

Princess Josefina del Drago 

Mr. John G. Agar 

Mr. E. de Cruzet Zanetti 

Four Sanctuary Windows 

(1) "St. Michael." (2) "St. Gabriel." (3) "St. Raphael." (4) "Uriel." 
Gift of Mr. Miguel R. Martinez 

Two Vestibule Windows 

(1) "St. Monica and St. Augustine." (2) "The Blessed Virgin and St. John 
Apostle." 

Donated by Mr. Warren Kinney and Mr. Morris Kinney 

Two Windows 

(1) Arms of Pope Pius X. (2) Arms of Cardinal Archbishop Farley 
Donated by Mrs. Herbert Johnston 

Two Brass Candlesticks 

Gift of Mrs. Benjamin Thaw 

Altar Vase 

Gift of Mr. M. D. Monserrate 

Jewels for Sacred Vessel 

Gift of Mr. Raniere Vilanova 

Sanctuary Lamp 

Gift of His Majesty, King Alfonso XIII, of Spain 

Chalice 

Gift of Her Majesty, Dowager Queen Maria Cristina, of Spain 

Ciborium 

Gift of Her Royal Highness, Infanta Paz, of Spain 

156 



Chasuble 

Gift of Their Royal Highnesses, Don Fernando Maria and Dona Maria 
Teresa, Infanta of Spain, Prince of Bavaria 

Chalice 

Gift of Senora Herminia Bolivar de Mira 

Chasuble 

Gift of the Little Sisters of the Assumption 

Altar Lace 

Gift of Miss Annie E. McCarthy 

Two Torcheres 

Gift of the Spaniards: 
His Excellency, the Spanish Minister, Sr. Don Juan Riano 
Mr. Aristides Martinez 
Mr. Manuel Rionda 
Mr. Juan M. Ceballos 
Mrs. J. C. DE Sanz 
Mr. Francisco Escobar 
Mr. Jose E. Garcia 
Mr. p. Enrique Rojas 
Mr. C. Romero 
Mr. Ramon Dalmases 

Misses J. C. Hernandez and J. L. del Solar 
Mrs. Julieta P. de McGrigor 
The Cuban Consul 
Mr. J. A. Pereira 
Mr. p. C. Franco 
Mr. Benito Rovira 
Mr. Alfredo Pelgas 
Mr. Manuel Lopez 
Mr. and Mrs. Andrade . 
Mr. Isaias Franco 
Mr. G. de Zaldo 

Four Memorial Lamps 
Donated by: 

(1) Miss Maria del C. Sarmiento 

(2) Mr. Leonardo Stagg 

(3) Mrs. John Chanler Moore 

(4) Mrs. E. J. CoNiLL 

Pulpit 

Gift of Frederic and Alice Coudert 

X 

Three Silk Flags 

Gift of the Cuban Colony 

Six Mortuary Candlesticks 

Gift of His Eminence, John Cardinal Farley 

Two Acolyte Torches 

Gift of Most Rev. Bishop Cusack 

157 



Three Reliquary Boxes 
Gifts of: 
Most Rev. Patrick J. Hayes 

MONSEIGNEUR LAVELLE 
MONSEIGNEUR LeWIS 

Instrumenta Ecclesiastica 
Donated by: 
Hon. Chauncey M. Depew 
The Countess de Langier Villars 
Mrs. Frederic de Zaldo 
Mrs. Elie Pouvert and Mr. C. Pouvert 
Mrs. George G. Byon 
Mrs. Henry Forbes McCreery 
Mrs. Charles William Sloane 
Mrs. Paul A. Andrews 
Mrs. Robert C. Black 
Mrs. James Blanchard Clews 
Prince Giovanni del Drago 
Mrs. George Bird Grinnell 
Mrs. M. H. de Young 
Miss Julia L. Murphy 
Mrs. Ricardo de Acosta 
Mr. Francis A. MacNutt 
Miss Katharine McCann 
Miss Ellen Whalen 
Mrs. Charles O'Hara 
Mrs. Gouverneur Kortright 
Mrs. Lewis Guentin Jones 
Mrs. Pio Scheverria 
Mrs. George C. Boldt 
Mrs. Menocal 
Mrs. Del Pino 
Mrs. Ramon Dalmases 
Mrs. p. Salazar 
Mrs. Jose Nicolas Cestero 
Mrs. Willis Polk 
Mr. J. Herbert Johnston 
Mrs. Benjamin Thaw 
Mrs. Minor C. Keith 
Mr. Manuel A. de Vengoechea 
Mrs. Albert V. de Goicouria 
Mrs. E. Conill de Zanetti 
Mr. and Mrs. Frederic R. Coltdert 
Miss Renie Coudert 
Miss Margaret Murphy 
Miss Mary Lynaugh 
Mr. William T. Lynaugh 
Miss Margaret M. Conroy 
Mr. Ramon Perez 
Mrs. Caridad Kindelan 
Mrs. Suzarte 

iS8 



Vestments 

Donated by: 
Mrs. Geraldyn Redmond 
Mr. William E. Iselin 
Mr. Adrian Iselin, Jr. 
Mr. John D. Crimmins 
Mrs. John G. Agar 
Mme. de Freyre 
The Misses Knight 
Mr. James Byrne 
Mr. Francis Burrall Hoffman 
Mrs. Alexinar M. de McCormick 
Mrs. Rudolph Barthold 
Mrs. Charles May Oelrichs 
Mrs. Frederic Moller 
The Marquis de Buena Vista 
The Little Sisters of the Assumption 

Marble Statue of the Sacred Heart 

Gift of Mrs. William Storrs Wells 

Marble Statue of St. A nthony of Padua 
Gift of Countess O'Leary 

Harmonium 

Gift of Mr. Henri Conrad 

Two Votive Candle Stands 

Gift of Mrs. Trina Keith 

Tabernacle Curtains, Made in Seville, Spain 

Gift of the Misses Cristina and Leocadia de Laverrerie 

Twelve Consecration Crosses 

Gift of Mr. Emilio Gogorza and Mme. Emma Eames de Gogorza 

Baptismal Font 

Gift of Mr. Theodore A. Havemeyer 

Oil Painting in r credos of the Altar of St. Joseph: "St. Joseph With the Child Jesus*' 

Painted by the celebrated Spanish artist, Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, and 
donated by him to the Spanish Church of Nuestra Senora de la Esperanza. 

Two Prie Dieu 

Gift of Mrs. Cornelius Cuyler Cuyler 

Three Indiana Limestone Settees 

Gift of Mrs. John J. Mason 

Miss Maria de Barril, chief benefactress of the Church, raised all the money 
for the Church's decoration and donated the window on the vestibule door and the 
golden key of the tabernacle in memory of her mother, Manuela de Laverrerie 
de Barril. 

159 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Feb. 2006 

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